Side Channel In East Port Said Side By June 2016
The Suez Canal will have another channel which would allow ships to pass via East Port Said. According to Captain Mohab Memish, Head of the Suez Canal Authority, the project is planned to be completed in June, 2016. The ships that enter East Port Said presently have to wait between 7 to 10 hours, this side channel will allow the ships to enter from open waters directly into East Port Said.
Memish added that 12 million containers are expected to pass through East Port Said by 2020 as a result of the new shipping channel.
The total cost to dredge the channel will be $36 million, including finance fronted by the Suez Canal Container Terminal, totalling $7.5 million. The cost is anticipated to be around $60 million and will give vessels 24-hour access through the Mediterranean waterway via East Port Said.
The $8 billion Suez Canal expansion project, that was inaugurated in August, 2015, is anticipated to generate around $13 billion of annual revenue and significantly increase shipping traffic.
Source: Reuters
