The construction of the new lane began a year ago, on the orders of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
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While the Egyptian flagship project helps spur the nation’s economic comeback, the two countries’ all-around strategic cooperation will also enhance regional security, peace, stability and development as well as global trade prosperity.
Egypt celebrated the inauguration of the new Suez Canal Thursday with 5,000 guests at an worldwide event marking the completion of 12 months of work, initially expected to last between three to five years.
8% of the world commercial exchanges go through the Canal, which represents 1 CMA CGM vessel on each direction of the Suez Canal every day.
For the project to reach its revenue targets world trade would have to grow by 9 percent annually until 2023, said William Jackson of Capital Economics, higher than the 3 percent average seen over the past four years.
Economic experts and businessmen familiar with the Suez Canal say the expansion of the canal may not yield the results claimed by authorities.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) underlined that Egypt has inaugurated on Thursday an important waterway adjacent to the Suez Canal where a huge number of the world’s leaders and officials attended the event.
“Egypt decides to establish an industrial city and logistics area in the Suez Canal zone, which will attract many investors and countries, especially China”, he said.
The Egyptian government is hoping that the expansion will boost the country’s economy, reported Daily News Egypt, as it will allow a new route for ships and vessels to pass through while decreasing the waiting time in the first canal. A MoU is scheduled to be signed in this regard.
Another critic of the project Michael Frodl, of U.S.-based consultancy C-Level Global Risks said the Suez Canal may face fierce competition and even lose to Panama Canal when its expansion is completed in 2016.
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KUALA LUMPUR, August 4 (Xinhua) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Tuesday that the forthcoming establishment of ASEAN Community by the end of this year will give fresh impetus to China ‘s “Belt and Road” initiative.
