Mohamed Seif Eldin-Cairo
Data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (Hukoomi) revealed that the revenues of the Suez Canal decreased by more than 10% in June, and by 1.4% during the first half of this year.
Revenues of the channel reached 49.1 billion pounds (about three billion dollars) during the first six months of this year, compared with 49.8 billion pounds in the same period last year, the government agency said in its monthly bulletin issued at the end of August.
Revenue from the channel fell in June to 7.8 billion pounds, from 8.7 billion in the same month last year, a decrease of 10.3%.
This is in contrast to the expectations of former channel chairman Lt. Gen. Mohab Mamish, who confirmed that revenues will be raised by 2023 to $ 13.4 billion (dollar = 16.5 pounds) after the completion of the new branch of the waterway.
Senior officials, led by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, have already spoken of the high prosperity and large increases in revenues of the channel after the opening of the new branch, which the actual figures in contrast.
The Suez Canal faces potential threats, as Nicaragua proceeds with the establishment of its Panama-parallel navigation project linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, which could affect foreign exchange earnings for both Egypt and Panama.