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Egypt keeps Suez Canal transit rates unchanged in 2015

Xinhua, February 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

Egypt has decided on Wednesday to keep the transit tolls of the Suez Canal waterway unchanged in 2015.

However, the discount granted to liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers would be 25 percent instead of 35 percent, head of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mamish told reporters in a press conference held by Suez Canal Authority.

Egypt granted the discounted back in 1994 during the rule of former ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

The official said the canal revenues hit 5.455 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, compared to 5.105 billion dollars in 2013, adding that these are the highest records since the canal was inaugurated.

The canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It was opened for navigation in November 1869 after 10 years of construction.

The 163 km-long waterway is one of the most important waterways in the world since it allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without navigating around Africa thereby reducing the sea voyage distance between Europe and India by about 7,000 kilometres.

It has been an essential source for hard currency except tourism, which has been withering since 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

In August last year, Egypt launched a project to dig a new 72-km canal alongside the original Suez Canal. The new canal is supposed to be inaugurated this August and is expected to provide more than one million job opportunities.

Meanwhile, Mamish said that 35 kilometers of dry digging have been completed and 10 kilometers of dredging have done so far, expecting that the project will be achieved in July.

Estimates show that the project is going to cost Egypt a total of four billion dollars. The tunnels, once completed, will reduce passing ships' waiting time from 11 hours to as short as three, and will accordingly increase the number of current containers in the course up to 97 in 2023 from the current 23.

The new artificial waterway, which is part of a larger project to expand Suez port and shipping facilities and build large industrial zones, is designed to raise Egypt's international profile, and build the nation as a major trade hub. Endit