The new national projects aim at compensating Egyptians in long-missed development, El-Sisi said during the meeting.
Egypt received last Monday three Dassault Aviation-built Rafale fighters from France in a ceremony at a French military base, the first batch of 24 warplanes acquired by Cairo in a 5.2 billion Euro ($5.6 billion) deal in February.
Egypt was the first country to buy the Rafale jets from Dassault Aviation after months of failed attempts by successive French governments to sell them. The fighter plane is scheduled to take part in the opening ceremony of Egypt’s new Suez Canal 6 August.
The new Suez Canal project aims to add a new shipping lane to the existing canal that links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, and to develop the zone around it into an industrial and commercial hub.
The upgraded canal is expected to speed up traffic along the waterway and to boost its revenues, projected to more than double from $5.3 billion at the end of 2015 to $13.2 billion in 2023, according to official estimates.
Earlier Saturday, Egypt began the first trial of the new Suez Canal, with three container ships navigating through the channel, state news agency MENA reported.
ahram.org.eg
25/7/15
--
-
Related:
The first cargo ships have passed through Egypt's second Suez Canal, amid tight security, ahead of the new waterway's official opening next month...
ReplyDeleteConstruction on the new lane, which runs alongside part of the existing canal, started less than a year ago.
The 72km (44 mile) route allows two-way traffic and can accommodate larger vessels.
Several container ships from around the world successfully navigated it on Saturday as part of a trial run.
Helicopters and naval vessels escorted the ships as part of the security operation.
The Sinai Peninsula, which borders the canal, is a base for Islamic militants, who have killed hundreds of people since the military overthrew President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
Trade boost
The original Suez Canal opened almost 150 years ago and links the Mediterranean with the Red Sea.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says the expansion of one of the world's busiest shipping routes will boost trade and increase employment across the country.
It currently handles 7% of global sea-borne business, and is one of Egypt's main sources of foreign currency income....BBC