To discuss Egypt’s biggest project underway-the New Suez Canal project, the Canada Egypt Business Council (CEBC) and the Egyptian Council for Sustainable Development (ECSD) hosted a panel discussion featuring the Head of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Admiral Mohab Mameesh, Dr. Hani Sarie-Eldin and Eng. Yehya Zaki, shared the panel. Sari-Eldin explained the legal frameworks for the project to encourage investors to come invest in the project, while Zaki delved into the technical specifics of the project.

Esteemed guests and officials including H.E. Amre Moussa, Dr.Khaled Fahmy, Dr. Khaled Zakaria, Dr. Mervat Al-Talawi, Dr. Mostafa Al Said, Dr. Ali El Saedi, Dr. Ali Moselhy, attended the discussion, as well as businessmen and reporters. Ambassadors of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kenya, Malta, Nigeria, Serbia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, as well as the Canadian Ambassador to Egypt Amb.Troy Lulashnyk were also in attendance.

Already the third source of Egypt’s GDP, the Suez Canal is a key national asset. In his opening remarks, Eng. Motaz Raslan called the project of the New Suez Canal “the project of the century for Egypt”. He added that the new project would mark a continuation of the Egyptian ancestors’ work and that it would add an important dimension to the Suez Canal as a whole.

The podium was then given to Admiral Mohab Mameesh, Chairman & Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority. Highlighting the grandeur of the New Suez Canal project, Mameesh said that work is being undertaken 24 hours a day to ensure maximum productivity and to reach the target of opening of the first phase of the new canal scheduled for the upcoming August.

Mameesh declared that revenues of the Suez Canal during the year 2014 represented the largest return since the Canal’s inauguration in 1869 as it reached more than 37 billion Egyptian pounds. With the new canal Egypt seeks to increase its revenue by 259%, which consequently should lead to the creation of about a million new job opportunities.

Video presentations showcasing the history of the Suez Canal, the new development plans, construction work, and project projections were shown to the audience for a complete picture of the vision of the New Suez Canal project. Unlike the common perception that the new Suez Canal project only involves dredging a new path in the Suez Canal area, the project is a cohesive one involving two major components: The Suez Canal area development project, and the dredging of the canal.

National, Arab, and foreign capital investment is being encouraged by the government of Egypt in order to have investors take part in the project.
Investors will be allocated land for long as well as renewable time periods to make foster an environment of security and stability in the investors’ businesses. New investment laws and regulations to offer investors protection are also of key importance. A tailor made set of regulations is currently being written by specialists in coordination with the ministry of justice and the ministry of investment. These new regulations focus on avoiding common obstacles encountered by investors in Egypt, which include lengthy startup procedures and other bureaucratic hurdles that face them.

Making use of the existing potential of the project’s ports and creating well-developed industrial zones that would benefit from the goods transported through the Suez Canal is a vital aspect of developing the Suez Canal area. This development is set to provide job opportunities and create new urban communities that would attract people from densely populated areas into the Canal Zone.

The development of the area would also give the chance to national companies to participate in the implementation of the project. Industries that will be included in the framework include car assembly plants, electronics, oil and refining industries, petrochemical industries, light metal industries, distribution and redistribution logistic centers, bunkering, ship-building and ship repair industries, manufacturing and repair of containers, furniture and woodworks, textiles, glass, and manufacturing plants. Another proposal for the development of the area is the project of fish farming, which is also known as aqua culture. This would take place in the sedimentation basins along the eastern bank of the Suez Canal.

Mameesh outlined the process as well as the progress of the dredging of the New Suez Canal where the total works and estimated costs of excavation, dredging, and utilities is valued at around 60 billion Egyptian Pounds. He also explained how the new passage function. The existing traffic system of the Suez Canal allows only one convoy to transit from south and two convoys from north. Vessels arriving from the Bitter Lakes wait at anchorage areas west and east of the lakes area until the northbound convoy completes it route. The new canal shall allow a nonstop transit of an average 49 vessels per day in both directions. It would also act to minimize the time of transit of the canal from 18 hours to 11 hours. Moreover, the new canal shall meet the requirementsof giant transportation, which has become a part of the modern progression of maritime shipping.

First steps to implement the creation of the new canal have already been started by deepening the navigational channel of the existing canal without interrupting the traffic of navigation. When this great project completes, the canal’s capacity of transit shall rise.

After the presentations, the floor was opened for the audience to raise their questions, inquiries and suggestions.