Head of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mamish said on Wednesday work is underway at the new Suez Canal site round the clock and it will be finalized before the August 6 deadline set by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.
The new canal, that will allow ships to sail in both directions at the same time, was supposed to end in three years but ordered by Sisi to be completed in one year.
The revenues of the canal this year will be a total surprise to the Egyptians who collected more than 60 billion pounds in less than eight days to finance the digging of the new canal, Mamish said while speaking on the deck of the CSCL GLOBE, world's largest container ship, after transiting the Suez Canal .
This ship proves that the Suez Canal, the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia, is capable of absorbing giant ships, he added.
After the competition of the new canal, revenues are expected to jump from 5 billion dollars to 12.5 billion dollars annually. The revenues will be used to turn the cities along the Canal (Ismailia, Suez, and Port Said) into international trading centers.