Close X
Thursday, December 12, 2024
ADVT 
International

Egypt to dig new canal alongside Suez Canal

Darpan News Desk IANS, 05 Aug, 2014 07:20 AM
    The Egyptian government Tuesday launched a project to dig a new 72-km canal alongside the original Suez Canal.
     
    Head of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mamish said during the opening ceremony of the Suez Canal Corridor project that it was aimed at creating "a new Suez Canal parallel to the current channel", Xinhua reported.
     
    The ceremony was also attended by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Ismailia province.
     
    The new project was expected to provide more than one million job opportunities, Mamish said.
     
    He also noted that instead of entrusting the project to foreign firms, Egypt intended to allow the country's own companies to build the giant waterway.
     
    Preliminary estimates show that the project is going to cost Egypt a total of $4 billion. 
     
    The canal, once completed, will reduce passing ships' waiting time from 11 hours to as little as three hours.
     
    Mamish also said that Cairo has yet to consult any foreign country over the new canal, adding that the armed forces along with the other related departments have managed to clear future construction sites of all mines that were planted during the 1973 Egyptian-Israeli war.
     
    Opened in 1869, the current 164 km-long Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt. 
     
    It connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, with its northern terminus at Port Said and the southern terminus Port Tawfiq in the city of Suez. 

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Downing of MH17 may be war crime: UN

    Downing of MH17 may be war crime: UN
    The downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine may constitute a war crime, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said Monday....

    Downing of MH17 may be war crime: UN

    Trees saving 850 human lives a year in US: Study

    Trees saving 850 human lives a year in US: Study
    Trees are saving more than 850 human lives a year and preventing almost 670,000 incidences of acute respiratory symptoms, says an estimate...

    Trees saving 850 human lives a year in US: Study

    Australian, Dutch police try reaching MH17 crash site

    Australian, Dutch police try reaching MH17 crash site
    Australian Federal Police (AFP) along with Dutch police Monday would attempt for the second time to reach the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine....

    Australian, Dutch police try reaching MH17 crash site

    MH17 crash: Malaysian PM to visit Netherlands

    MH17 crash: Malaysian PM to visit Netherlands
    Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will visit the Netherlands Wednesday and meet his counterpart Mark Rutte for talks on the Malaysia...

    MH17 crash: Malaysian PM to visit Netherlands

    Afghanistan suspends presidential vote auditing

    Afghanistan suspends presidential vote auditing
    The Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) Saturday announced that the presidential runoff vote auditing process has temporarily been suspended...

    Afghanistan suspends presidential vote auditing

    Indian American officials asked about 'your country','your government'

    Indian American officials asked about 'your country','your government'
    In an extremely awkward incident, a newly elected member of the US House of Representatives mistook two senior Indian American officials of the...

    Indian American officials asked about 'your country','your government'