The Suez Canal Authority is said to consider a deal with major shipping carriers to pay tolls in advance resulting in a discount for up to three years.
Local media reports that currently negotiations are underway between the authority and three of the world’s biggest shipping groups; Maersk, CMA CGM Group, and the Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC).
The shipping companies involved in the deal will deposit three years’ worth of transit fees in advance in local banks in exchange for discounts.
The canal, one of the world’s most strategic waterways, is one of Egypt’s key sources of hard currency. Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority’s revenues recorded $429 million in July, according to the latest officially announced data, falling two percent year-on-year, ahramonline reports.
