Head of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mamish and visiting United Arab Emirates Minister of State Sultan Ahmed al-Gaber gave the green light to commence dredging works at the new Suez Canal project.
Earlier this month, the heavy duty dredger of the National Marine Dredging Company ‘al-Mirfa’ entered the new Suez Canal project site.
Companies from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the US and Belgium are taking part in the dredging works of the new waterway.
The waterway, to be dug alongside the Suez Canal, is meant to add an extra lane to the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important thoroughfares for trade, in an attempt to increase the number of ships using it each day.
The Suez Canal, which allows ships to travel from Europe to Asia without passing through southern Africa, only provides for one-way traffic, with occasional room for ships to pass each other. The new lane would allow ships to travel in both directions.