The consortium of Bahrain-based Dar Group (Shair and Partners) and its Egyptian subsidiary are the winning firm to make the general plan for the Suez Canal project, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority announced on Tuesday. During a conference on Tuesday, Mohab Mamish - Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority and head of the executive council of the Suez Canal Corridor initiative – announced the consultancy was chosen out of 14 international firms that met the tender specifications for a massive economic development project in the Suez Canal region. Last January, the Egyptian government announced that out of 46 applications, 33 consortia were qualified according to the project's specifications, while 14 were picked as among the best applicants. Earlier in August, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi attended the inauguration of a 72km waterway to be dug alongside the Suez Canal. The new artificial waterway will cost around $4 billion. The new canal is part of the Suez Canal Development mega project, which includes the development of several seaports in the three governorates bordering the canal – Suez, Ismailiya and Port Said – in addition to a seaport in the South Sinai city of Nuweiba and the development of Sharm Al-Sheikh airport. Suez Canal is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia and brings around $5 billion a year, a source of hard currency whose importance has risen since a the 2011 uprising deterred tourists and foreign investors. Egypt wants to turn the area surrounding the canal into an international industrial and logistics hub which would help revive the economy that struggled for more than three years of political turmoil.
