Egypt stated that it had successfully tested a new 10km channel near the southern end of the Suez Canal.
The Suez Canal Authority announced that during a trial run, two ships successfully navigated the new section of the canal’s two-way route without any issues. After the 2021 incident when the containership Ever Given became grounded and blocked the crucial waterway for six days, Egypt fast-tracked plans to expand the second channel in the southern part of the canal and to widen the existing one.
Furthermore, according to the the statement, the latest expansion extends the total length of the canal’s two-way section to 82 km from a previous 72 km. The canal is 193 km long in total. Its revenue from the waterway, has tumbled since Yemen’s Houthi militants began attacking ships in the Red Sea in November 2023.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said on 25 December that due to “regional challenges,” the country had lost approximately $7 billion in Suez Canal revenue in 2024, marking more than a 60 percent drop from 2023.
The Suez Canal Authority said that this expansion will boost the canal’s capacity by an additional 6 to 8 ships daily and enhance its ability to handle potential emergencies.
