On Tuesday, Osama Rabie, the Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, announced the official commencement of the Suez Canal doubling project in the southern sector. The project spans 10 kilometers and aims to improve the flow of global trade. It is expected to increase the canal’s daily capacity by accommodating six to eight additional ships.
This initiative is part of a comprehensive development plan following the incident involving the Panama-flagged container ship Ever Given, which ran aground in the southern entrance of the canal on March 23, 2021, causing a week-long disruption to shipping traffic.
In addition to the dual-channel expansion, the plan also included a project to widen and deepen a 30-kilometer stretch of the canal, from kilometer 132 to kilometer 162. The completion of these works was announced in November 2023.
The goal of the project is to enhance the smooth passage of vessels, reduce transit time, and improve the overall efficiency of the Suez Canal, which remains a vital global shipping route. This development is expected to further strengthen the canal’s capacity to handle increasing maritime traffic and reinforce its crucial role in international trade.
