According to the Efe news agency, Admiral Osama Rabi, head of the department that controls the channel, said the project is being carried out in accordance with “the directives of the president. [egípcio] Abdelfatah al-Sisi will immediately begin “expansion and” set an agenda to complete it as soon as possible. “
The official assured that the project is a continuation of “efforts to develop a navigation route started with the opening of the new Suez Canal,” noting that the project will have “several stages.”
According to an official statement released today, the first, which began today, is in the Little Lakes region, which will expand ten kilometers and reach 82 kilometers in the part of the new canal, which opened in 2015.
“The importance of the current expansion project lies in improving the efficiency of the canal and reducing the transit times for ships, as well as improving the safety factor of navigation in the southern region. [sul] channel, ”says Rabi.
At the second stage, work will continue to expand the southern part by another 30 kilometers.
Container ship Ever Given, owned by Japan and Panama, ran aground on the Suez Canal on March 23, returning to sail six days later, but is still on the Grand Lake Canal due to an economic dispute between owners and Autoridade do Canal. , which seeks compensation of 755 million euros for the damage caused.
The six-day blockade disrupted some of the world’s trade, forcing some boats to take an alternative route through the southern tip of Africa, while more than 400 ships were held up near the canal, both in the north and in the south.
