Egypt to deepen, widen Suez Canal after blockage
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has approved a project to widen and deepen the southern stretch of the Suez Canal, where a giant vessel blocked the strategic maritime artery for nearly a week in March.
CAIRO — At the May 11 inauguration ceremony of a number of development projects at the Suez Canal Authority headquarters in Ismailia, attended by a number of top government officials, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced his approval of a project to expand the Suez Canal.
Canal authority chairman Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie, who presented the project to Sisi, said at the ceremony that the project aims to widen and deepen the southernmost 30-kilometer (18-mile) stretch of the waterway by 40 meters (130 feet) eastward. It also seeks to deepen the waterway from 66 feet to 72 feet and extend the second canal lane opened in 2015 by 10 kilometers (6 miles) southward, Rabie said.
