Egypt’s revenues from Suez Canal trade rose to $US 447.1 million in July, compared to $US 427 million in June, according to data from the Suez Canal Authority published by the state-run Egypt Information Portal (EIP).
In May, the Suez Canal recorded $US 439 million. According to the EIP, 1,453 ships passed through the Egyptian waterway in July compared to 1,384 the month before.
Transit activity rose since the canal expansion was completed. A total of 7294 ships passed through the waterway between March and July, which is 4 percent more than 2016 records of the same period, according to a press release by the Canal’s authority.
The canal is one of Egypt’s main sources of foreign currency. Revenues of the canal have been under scrutiny by many in Egypt since the construction of the ‘new Suez Canal’ which expanded the Canal.
The much-anticipated expansion of the Suez Canal promised by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in 2014, was inaugurated a year later in a lavish ceremony attended by leaders from around the world and high-profile figures from Egyptian society.
While the Egyptian leader proclaimed that the new Canal would more than double annual revenues by 2023, experts have been more pessimistic, pointing to a decline in global trade, which would lead to declining demand for shipping through the Canal. To achieve the 2023 goal, shipping would have to increase by 9 percent per year, with no decline in traffic.
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