Suez Canal Expansion Due for Completion in 2023
- medfuels
- Jan 28, 2022
- 1 min read
According to the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), the ongoing project to expand parts of the Suez Canal is expected to be completed in July of 2023, said on Sunday.
The SCA announced plans to extend a second channel of the canal and to enlarge an existing channel last year. Construction began in June 2021 after the containership Ever Given ran aground and blocked the passageway for six days.
Ships pass through the canal in convoys, and the extension of the second lane would increase capacity by six ships. The canal's average daily traffic totals nearly 50 ships and the canal saw nearly 20,000 ships in 2020.
The southernmost portion of the canal is set to be widened 40 meters eastward and deepened to 72 feet from 66 feet.
"The project will be completed in 24 months. We started in July 2021 and God willing we will finish in July 2023," Chairman Osama Rabie said. The SCA claims that the expansion will improve ship navigation by 28%
