Cairo – The chairman of Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone and Suez Canal Authority, Mohab Mamish, said this Tuesday (6) that revenue hit a record-high in the fiscal year that ran from July 2018 to June 2019, to EGP 104.2 billion, or USD 6.3 billion, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported. The sea-level waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea is a key source of revenue for the Arab country.
In the fourth anniversary of the New Suez Canal, which involved a new waterway and expansion of the existing one, the chairman said revenue was up 5.4% year-on-year.
Mamish stressed that the canal saw 81 ships in one single day this month, carrying 6.1 million tons between them. According to him, the canal is getting ready to welcome the biggest container vessel in the world, of the Megamax-24 type, with capacity for 23,000 containers.
KUNA said this is one of 11 ships selected to handle trade between the Far East and Western Europe as part of the AE10/Silk service, coordinated by shipping company Maersk.
Mamish concludes by saying that some USD 25 billion have been invested in projects in the canal area, and the investment is seen reaching USD 55 billion over the next 15 years, with deals expected to create millions of jobs.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
