Suez Canal expansion inaugurated with promises of further development

Egypt’s ruler Abdel Fattah el-Sisi inaugurated the “New” Suez Canal yesterday (6 August) at a grand ceremony on the banks of the canal.

A 35 km stretch of the canal’s central section has been widened so that two ships can pass each other at the same time. A 37 km stretch has been deepened to a depth of 66 ft (20 m) and 340 m.

This is expected to reduce southbound transit times from 18 hours to 11 hours and also means that the grounding of a ship in the Canal will have a less catastrophic impact.