Despite Everything, Egypt Continues Work to “Double” Suez Canal

Egyptian authorities are not discouraged by the drastic reduction in maritime traffic through the Suez Canal caused by the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea area. Shipping to and from the Mediterranean has fallen by more than 60 percent since last December. Nevertheless, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has completed 75% of the work to widen the strategic waterway in a 10-kilometer stretch in the Bitter Lakes region, south of Ismailia.

The Suez Canal is 193 kilometers long, and work is underway to double its width in the section between kilometers 122 to 132. As General Osama Rabi, head of the SCA, reminded, the implementation of the project to double the canal is proceeding in stages: “In 2015, a 72-kilometer section was opened on the central part of the canal where transit in both directions is allowed at the same time.” 50 kilometers in the northern part and another 30 kilometers in the southern part of the Suez Canal remain “single lane.”