The new Suez passage is ready for the inauguration. It will take place next Thursday, in the presence of numerous foreign dignitaries and under tight security measures, in the city of Ismailiya. The ceremony will be opened by President Abdel Fatah al Sisi, who also inaugurated the works last August, with a naval parade.
It took less than a year to build the new route and 9 billion dollars. The new canal, 72 kilometers long, will run along the existing one, connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and allowing the movement of boats in both directions, thus significantly reducing waiting times.
The main objective that led to the construction of the canal is to relaunch the Egyptian economic recovery after the years of instability following the fall of Mubarak's regime. The costs of the works were mainly incurred through the equity investments sold to the population.
