Mohab Mamish, Head of the Suez Canal Authority, has said that the ongoing Suez Canal project is expected to be completed in July, 2015, with an inauguration ceremony that is planned for August, 2015.
PTI previously reported on a video showing a time-lapse of the second phase of dredging for the Suez Canal project.
Andy Lane of CTI Consultancy, said: “Once the Panama 3rd locks open, Suez will see some existing business revert back to Panama. Services from East Asia to USEC/Gulf are more economical through Panama than Suez, but are through Suez today due to the present Panamax vessel size restrictions (294×32.3×12 – LOAxBeamxDraft).
“Suez will continue to compete on some select trade lanes with Panama, and also to an extent Northern Passages in many years time. Overall the risks to Suez in the medium to long term are limited and the waterway will continue to provide a steady flow of cash to the Egyptian government.”
Financial performance has been strong for Suez, with revenues reaching a massive US$3.2bn in the 2014-2015 fiscal year.
Although the total cost of the Suez Canal’s dredging work has cost around $15bn, the annual revenue is expected to top as much as $13.5bn by the year 2023.