For the first time in Egypt’s history, the Suez Canal has hit a groundbreaking revenue record of $1 million per hour, as announced by Khaled Abu Bakr, the legal advisor to the Suez Canal Authority. The announcement came through a Facebook post, where Abu Bakr acknowledged the efforts of the Suez Canal team and daily monitoring by the Egyptian President as pivotal in achieving this milestone.
Suez Canal’s Stellar Financial Performance
The Suez Canal has significantly outperformed financial expectations. During the 2022/2023 financial year:
– Initially expected to bring in $808 billion, the Canal exceeded this forecast by registering $9.4 billion in revenue.
– In contrast, the revenue for the year 2022 was $7.93 billion.
– Notably, before the development of the new canal or branching, the Suez Canal only generated $442.8 million in 2014.
Surge in Maritime Traffic
The number of ships passing through the Canal in 2022/2023 was 25,887, carrying a total load of 1.5 billion tons. This is in stark contrast to 2013 when only 16,600 ships transited, with a total cargo of 915.5 million tons.
The Southern Sector Development Project
A new initiative aims to increase the Canal’s capacity by an additional six ships. The project also aims to improve navigational safety rates by up to 28%.
Yacht Tourism on the Rise
The Suez Canal Authority is playing a significant role in putting Egypt on the global yacht tourism map. Advanced marinas for yachts are under development in three canal cities. The marinas are expected to accommodate up to 120 yachts, in line with the establishment of a state-of-the-art marina in Ismailia. This marina aims to be the first example of a sustainable green marina meeting environmental standards.
