Sissi to inaugurate 'new' Suez Canal

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi inaugurates a “new” Suez Canal in a lavish ceremony, as Egypt seeks to boost its economy and international standing by expanding the vital waterway.

Security has been tightened ahead of the ceremony and the event is being showcased by authorities as proof that the country was safe.

An Egyptian flag flutters as a container ship crosses the new waterway of the Suez canal on July 23, 2015, in the Egyptian port city of Ismailia, east of Cairo (AFP/STR)

The new section, built at a cost of $9 billion (7.9 billion euros) and funded entirely by Egyptian investors, runs part of the way alongside the existing canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

It creates what is effectively a “second lane,” expected to cut the waiting period for vessels from 18 hours to 11.

— AFP