Chairman of Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mamish stressed on Sunday that the new Suez Canal will be finalized in August, the deadline President Abdel Fattah El Sisi set when launching the project.
Mamish, speaking on the sidelines of Cairo Economic Development Conference, said the authority has earlier planned to carry out the project within three years but the President gave directives to finalize it within one year only.
The new Canal will expand the existing Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean with the Red Sea.The enlarged canal will allow ships to sail in both directions at the same time over much of the canal's length. This is expected to decrease waiting hours from 11 to 3 for most ships and to double the capacity of the Suez Canal from 49 to 97 ships a day.