The Suez Canal brought in around 7.5 billion euros to the Egyptian state in 2022, continuing to break records with the “highest” turnover in the history of this crucial route for global maritime trade located in eastern Egypt.
This represents an increase of 25% compared to 2021, explains the Channel Authority in a press release.
The enormous structure inaugurated in 1869 registered the transit of 1,410 million tons of diverse cargo, a figure also “the highest in the history of the canal”, while it was used by 24,820 ships, an average of 68 ships per day, against 56 in 2021, plus points out the public establishment.
new section
This increase in traffic has been made possible by a development, the first of President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi’s “megaprojects” that have absorbed much of Egyptian finance in recent years. A new section excavated in 2014 and 2015 now makes it easier for convoys to cross and reduces transit time for ships.
In addition, Egypt increases every year the taxes and other crossing fees imposed on ships, one of the main sources of foreign currency for the country, one of the five most at risk of not paying its external debt according to Moody’s agency.
With an inflation of 22% officially -but in reality 101% according to hyperinflation experts-, Egypt is hunting for the dollar: the IMF lends it three billion over four years, far from the 42 that it must pay its debt in 2022-2023.
“The channel’s revenues have gone from 4 to 7,500 million euros thanks to the expansion works,” Abdel Fattah al-Sissi congratulates himself despite everything that has recently happened.
Blocked several days
In early January, a ship carrying Ukrainian corn ran aground in the canal, which connects the Red and Mediterranean seas, before being quickly refloated without disrupting traffic.
In 2021, the Ever Given, a giant container ship weighing almost 200,000 tons, blocked the traffic route between Europe and Asia for several days.
The rescue operation lasted six days and cost the life of an agent of the Suez Canal Authority. Egypt had lost between $12 million and $15 million per day of closure, while insurers had estimated billions of dollars in losses per day for global maritime trade.
Source: BFM TV
