Egypt said on Wednesday that the “new Suez Canal” was ready for navigation for all kinds of ships, as authorities geared up to launch the shipping route officially next month.
Dubbed the Suez Canal Axis, the new 72-kilometre (45-mile) section built by the Egyptian army is aimed at speeding up traffic along the existing waterway by reducing the waiting period, as well as boosting revenues.
Boats crossing the new waterway at the new Suez Canal in the Egyptian port city of Ismailia, east of Cairo, July 29, 2015. (AFP/ KHALED DESOUKI)
It runs part of the way along the existing canal connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.
“We declare that the new Suez Canal is safe for all kinds of vessels,” Suez Canal Authority chief Mohab Mameesh told a news conference in the canal city of Ismailiya.
“We call on all the international maritime carriers to use the current and the new Suez canal. Your navigation is safe.”
A ceremony will be held on August 6 to inaugurate the project. The authorities held the first trial run of the new waterway on Saturday.
–AFP
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