Egypt: Suez Canal chief proposes widening, deepening vital waterway post Ever Given block

Taking lessons from the recent obstruction, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has indicated its intention to widen and deepen parts of the waterway to improve the movement of ships in the area. Addressing media reporters in Egypt, SCA chairman Osama Rabie announced the proposed plan to increase the width of the 30-kilometre wide canal by 40 meters and deepen the area by 10 feet from 72 feet to 62 feet. Additionally, authorities said that they would also add on a 10-kilometre stretch of lanes linked to an extension that was completed in 2015.

The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway that connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. Although it has been in existence since 1969, the sea route caught global attention earlier this year after a gigantic ship got stuck, causing an impasse that resulted in a loss worth billions. Egypt, which exercises control over the canal lost an estimated US$1 billion from the blockade. Now, in a bid to prevent a similar episode from happening in future, the SCA has proposed the plan to alter its dimensions.

Speaking about the same, the  Egyptian president  Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said that he doesn’t want to mobilize “huge” public funding for the project as the government did when expanding the canal years earlier. Additionally, he also said that the government was in "no hurry" to complete the expansion. According to Rabie, the plan of renovation is expected to take two years.

Blockage of Suez Canal

The Suez Canal was blocked in March and at least 237 ships were stuck at both ends. 30 % of the global shipments pass from this highly important trade route. Suez Canal is a 193-km canal- an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt that connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It also provides the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe, bypassing Africa. On Tuesday, the 224,000-tonne container ship MV Ever Given was grounded after strong winds and a sandstorm caused low visibility and poor navigation, which caused complete blockage of the traffic and delayed a number of ships carrying cargo ranging from oil to consumer goods.

Image: AP