Egypt To Gain Almost $200Mln From Suez Canal Economic Zone In Upcoming Years - Official

Egypt's national project to develop areas adjacent to the Suez Canal will earn the country 3.4 billion Egyptian pounds (over $193 million) in the upcoming years, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mameesh told Sputnik

CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th February, 2019) Egypt's national project to develop areas adjacent to the Suez Canal will earn the country 3.4 billion Egyptian Pounds (over $193 million) in the upcoming years, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mameesh told Sputnik.

"Within the past three years, we achieved positive results at all levels. The authority [of the Suez Canal Economic Zone] gained a net profit of 1.631 billion Egyptian pounds comparing to 1.299 billion pounds in the previous year. So the growth of net profit was 26 percent ... All the differences with investors in the [Suez Canal] economic zone have been settled, which allows us to assess the expected income in the upcoming years at the level of 3.4 billion Egyptian pounds," Mameesh said in an interview.

According to the official, the biggest national investors have already shown interest in the work being done in the economic zone.

Mameesh also said that Egypt was currently building and developing infrastructure in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

The official added that investments in the New Suez Canal project, which envisages the construction of a new leg of the channel, had already paid off, expressing hope that the revenue from the project would double by 2023.

The Suez Canal is an artificial waterway that connects the Mediterranean and Red seas. It is located in Egypt and stretches 120 miles. The canal is the shortest way between the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

A new leg of the channel opened in August 2015, which boosted the Suez Canal's overall traffic capacity. The project also seeks to develop adjacent areas.