The studies in the Suez Canal project are expected to start by the end of next week, the director of operation at Dar Al-Handasah told the Daily News Egypt Tuesday. The company official added that the studies will include data collection and the examination of the shareholders' objectives. Zaki said stakeholders include the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI). Last Tuesday, Head of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Memish announced that an alliance between Shair, partners of Dar Al-Handasah and its Egypt-based firm, have won the bid for the Suez Canal Project. Among the 13 bid participants, the Dar Al-Handasah alliance received an 86% assessment ratio. French engineering services company Egis, nominated by the World Bank, has been selected to evaluate the performance of the project's master plan. Founding member of the Public Front for the Suez Canal Rasha Qenawi previously told Daily News Egypt that the firm needs around eight months to complete the development project's "master plan". On 10 August, Minister of Planning Ashraf El-Araby noted that the revenues from the Suez Canal during the past fiscal year were around $5.2bn. He pointed out that the current project, one of two in the Suez Canal, would aim to build a new Suez Canal that is 72km long with sections that involve new drillings and expansions. "After the project's completion, we [the government] are expecting to increase the $5.2bn revenues to over $13bn," El-Araby added. Qalaa Holding, formerly known as Citadel Capital, announced Tuesday that its mining unit ASCOM Geology and Mining was chosen "to complete dry sand excavation on a 1-kilometre-long, 0.4-kilometer wide section of the New Suez Canal". "ASCOM has completed initial survey work on its assigned segment and has committed to the excavation of 25,000 cubic metres per day until such a time as they strike wet soil," the company said in an official statement.
