Egypt's Suez Canal Authority, has announced that the revenues from the Suez Canal rose to $5.8 billion in 2018/19 according to the head of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie. Rabie said the rise is largely due to the opening of the new Suez Canal in August 2015. Rabie, addressing a delegation from parliament's African Affairs Committee on Wednesday, said revenues from the Suez Canal increased by 5.4 percent in 2018/19, or from $5.6 billion in 2017/18 to $5.8 billion in 2018/19. Rabie indicated that the number of ships crossing the Suez Canal increased from 17,900 carrying 1,174 tonnes in 2017/18 to 18,800 carrying 1,093 tonnes in 2018/19. Rabie said shipping in the Suez Canal has not been negatively affected by the spread of the Corona Virus in parts of Asia and Europe. “We did not register any drop in the number of vessels and ships crossing the Suez Canal due to the Corona Virus, even though 13 percent of China's trade passes through the canal,” said Rabie. Rabie also revealed that the Suez Canal Authority was able to cut the time of crossing the canal to just 11 hours, down from 22 hours in 2015 when the new Suez Canal was opened. source: Ahram Online
