CAIRO, Aug. 6 (UPI) — Touted as “the rebirth of Egypt,” a six billion dollar expansion to the Suez Canal was completed and will be unveiled Thursday.
Current Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted his predecessor Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and promised a revitalization of Egypt’s economy. One of his key goals was the year-long completion of a major extension to the Suez Canal to allow larger amounts of two-way traffic to pass.
An official inauguration ceremony will take place Thursday in Ismailia, located midway between the north and south openings of the Suez Canal.
The Suez Canal has been a symbol of national pride since its construction in 1869. Al-Sisi’s program marks the third time the canal is widened for two-way traffic. This time, a 21 mile bypass along the 120 mile canal has been constructed in what has been called “The Great Egyptian Dream.” Nearly 43,000 laborers used oversize dredgers to get the project done on time. Spearheaders of the project predict that the added waterway will raise revenue from $3.5 billion (USD) to $8.4 billion (USD). Wait times for ships looking to traverse the canal will lessen by as much as eight hours.
With Thursday being a national holiday, public transport is free of charge and the country’s public gardens will be open to all. New passport stamps laud the project as “Egypt’s Gift to the World” and Cairo’s Tahrir Square has been adorned with string of blue and white lights, as have the rails of bridges and the banks of the Nile River.
Cairo resident Ali Ezzat told the Wall Street Journal that “no one in Egypt or outside believed that it could be achieved in such a period.”
Al-Sisi’s smiling face even adorns the state run newspaper. A video produced by the military also promotes the accomplishment.
Although the Suez Canal is the fastest link between Asia and Europe and accounts for nearly 8 percent of global shipping trade, some have questioned whether the money spent on the canal could have been better used elsewhere.
One economic analyst, Angus Blair, told Sky News that although the canal will indeed bring higher revenue, more needs to be done to directly alleviate the struggling Egyptian population. Another analysis believes that since the canal is not operating at full capacity to begin with, the expansion will do little to increase traffic.
Despite the accomplishment that the completed expansion represents, terrorism continues to take a toll on the Egyptian economy.
A rebel group that is linked to the Islamic State (IS) has taken root in the Sinai Peninsula, which threatens Egypt’s lucrative tourism sector. This same group recently produced a video threatening the execution of a Croatian citizen if their demands to the government are not met.
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