The Suez Canal Authority has announced that the canal has broken a new record for the number of ships to cross the trade lane in a day, having reached a total of 70, according to the Cairo Post.
PTI recently reported that the US$8.5 billion Suez Canal channel expansion had been inaugurated, having been opened by an official ceremony, where various executives within the port industry and international politics were in attendance.
Mohab Mamish, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said: “The increasing number of crossing ships sheds the lights on the importance of the establishment of the new Suez Canal, to raise the canal’s capacity to receive the expected increase in the global trade.”
Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, President of the Egypt, said: “We promised a gift to the world and we accomplished it in record time – an additional artery for prosperity and for connecting civilization to enhance the movement of international trade.”
The Suez Canal was completed in a rapid 10 months of developments, where dredging company Boskalis Westminster N.V. were in a race against time to complete the new lane for traffic.
Egypt has recently proposed another new channel, which will connect to the Suez Canal via Port Said, thereby cutting down waiting times for ships entering the canal from this side even further.
