The Congolese state-owned television will broadcast live the inauguration ceremony of the new Suez Canal on Thursday with French subtitles, Egyptian Ambassador to Congo Hani Saleh said.

He said the step comes after an agreement was reached between the embassy and Congolese Information Minister Lambert Mende.

The diplomat noted that Congolese television stations have been broadcasting programs all through the past week on the giant project.

Congolese President Joseph Kabila, accompanied by the ministers of foreign, health, environment and energy, are taking part in the inauguration ceremony.

The new 72-kilometer waterway, built in less than a year at a cost of 60 billion EGP, runs part of the way alongside the existing canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

The legendary project was mostly financed by investment certificates sold to Egyptians.

It will allow for the first time since its opening ships to sail through the waterway in two directions, cutting transit time from 18 to 11 hours.