NEW YORK: The expanded Suez Canal will be inaugurated on August 6, 2015 by the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, and 5,000 distinguished guests, public and private personalities, institutions and international companies.
The Suez Canal was first built from 1859 to 1869 under the supervision of French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps. It is one of the main canals constructed by man. It was built for maritime transportation in order to avoid sailing around Africa.
The Suez Canal is the shortest route between east and west and enables vessels to reduce their sailed distances significantly.
The Suez Canal decreases the distance between Singapore and Rotterdam by 6,000 kilometres compared to the route via the Cape of Good Hope.
It reduces the distance between Singapore and New York by 4,000 kilometers.
The Suez Canal is the longest canal in the world, with a 193 kilometre length and a 345 metre width. It is crossed by approximately 20,000 vessels each year, and by 8% of world maritime traffic.
The works on the New Suez Canal lasted a year during which the construction of a parallel route to the old Canal, with a length of 34 kilometres was achieved.
With the New Suez Canal the number of vessels sailing through the Canal will be doubled: from an average 49 vessels transiting daily through the canal today to 97 in 2023, in order to respond to the trade growth perspectives and to maritime carriers demand
Transit times will be decreased from 18 to 11 hours for northbound convoys.
Speculation continues as to whether the Suez or Panama Canal will be the chief beneficiary after both routes have completed their expansions.
