The Suez Canal is one of the important international navigation routes with 12 percent of international trade transiting the international waterway every year, said head of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie on Thursday 28/10/2021.

He said the SCZone has unique features that make it the locomotive of economic development in Egypt and has an investment-magnet atmosphere capable of luring local and foreign investments.

The area has a distinguished geographic location with the presence of six ports overlooking the Mediterranean and Red Sea and in light of competitive customs privileges it offers, Rabei said at the start of the authority’s activities at Dubai 2020 EXPO.

Rabei said the SCZone is qualified to be an international corridor for value added industries that can compete with major economic zones worldwide and consequently lead to the increase of the number of ships transiting the canal.

He said the opening of East Port Said side channel aimed at speeding up the shipping process and allowing ships to directly enter Port Said without being hindered by traffic along the Suez Canal.

Rabei referred to the successful handling of the crisis of 400-meter-long Ever Given ship that blocked the Suez Canal for six days in March, saying the ship was re-floated without causing any damage to the hulk or the crew.

He said the authority exerted relentless efforts for four days to clear the canal traffic jam caused by the 422 ships that were stuck in the northern and southern entrances while waiting for the re-floating of the mammoth ship.

The authority also led a successful negotiations process with the owners of the ship to get necessary compensations, he added.

Despite the Covid 19 crisis and its negative repercussions on global trade, he said the number of ships transiting the international waterway was almost close to pre-Covid 19 rates, he added.

Source: State Information Service Egypt