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- Egypt: Suez Canal expansion to finish in July 2023
Egypt: Suez Canal expansion to finish in July 2023
Accelerated plans were announced following the six-day grounding of the Ever Given vessel in March 2021
A project to expand parts of the Suez Canal is expected to finish by July 2023 after two years of work, according to a Sunday announcement by the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).
Accelerated plans were set forth to extend a second channel of the artificial waterway and to enlarge an existing channel, following the six-day grounding of the Ever Given container ship last year that led to a traffic jam of over 200 vessels.
"The project will be completed in 24 months. We started in July 2021 and God willing we will finish in July 2023," Chairman Osama Rabie said.
Convoys of ships regularly pass through the sea-level water passage in Egypt that connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
According to Rabie, the extension of the second lane would increase the canal’s capacity by six vessels.
The southernmost 18 miles of the canal, where the Ever Given became grounded, will be widened 40 meters eastward and deepened from 64 feet to 72 feet.
"This will improve ship navigation by 28 percent in this difficult part of the canal," Rabie said, Reuters reported.
When asked about shipments of fuel or oil from Iran passing through the canal, despite United States sanctions on Iranian oil sales, Rabie said: "There's no discrimination when it comes to a country flag on ships, and Iranian oil does pass through the canal."
The Lebanese Islamist political and military group Hezbollah imported Iranian fuel last year in a move it said was aimed at addressing shortages.
Shipments were routed via Syria to avoid complications with sanctions.