CAIRO - 4 March 2024: Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said Monday that the project of the complete duplication of the canal’s navigational course is still in the study phase.
He explained that the study stage inludes feasibility, environmental, engineering and civil studies, as well as soil and dredging research, and other studies that the authority will be implementing in cooperation with major international consulting companies specialized in this field.
The company will complete the study phase within approximately 16 months, in preparation for presenting the project to the government, provided that the necessary funding to implement the project in the future will be provided from the investment budget of the Authority approved by the Ministry of Finance, without placing any additional burdens on the state’s general budget.
The Chairman of the Authority explained that the full duplication of the canal project aims to achieve full duplication of the canal in both directions, allowing for raising the classification of the canal and increasing its competitiveness, as well as increasing the numerical and absorptive capacity of the canal to become capable of accommodating all categories and sizes of ships of the global fleet.
Lieutenant General Rabie confirmed that the Suez Canal is moving forward towards completing its ambitious strategy to develop the canal’s navigational course through the implementation of several infrastructure development projects, taking into account the technical and economic feasibility of the projects, and their suitability to the development and growth of the global trade movement, and that it will be implemented through the investment budget of the Authority approved by Egyptian government.
The Chairman of the Authority pointed out the completion of the first phase of the southern sector development project by expanding the canal by 40 meters to the east from km 132, canal numbering to km 162, while work is underway to complete the second part of the development of the southern sector with the project to double the canal with a length of 10 km.
It is worth noting that the southern sector development project being implemented is funded through the authority’s investment budget in Egyptian pounds, without charging the state budget any additional amounts. The project aims to increase the capacity of the canal by 6 ships, and increase the navigational safety factor in that sector by 28%.
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