The New Suez Canal, the government’s most celebrated economic undertaking, has been dredged further to a 24-meter depth, the state-run agency MENA reported, quoting the engineer supervising the process.
The canal, slated for opening next month, has been deepened to 24 meters along a horizontal distance of 57 kilometers, out of the targeted 72 kilometers, said Eng. Ahmed Farid, who added that the works will allow the passage of vessels as low as 66 feet.
Egypt hopes the new canal will increase the capacity of the current canal, allowing the passage of 97 ships, up from the present 49, therefore doubling revenues by 259 percent, to LE13.226 billion per year.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
