The Suez Canal garnered the highest monthly revenue in April at $365.5 million after Egypt raised transit fees by an average of 2.84 percent as of April 1, the MENA news agency reported on Saturday. A total of 1,657 vessels passed through the international waterway in April, Ahmed Fadel, head of the Suez Canal Authority, was reported to have said. He added that the Canal brought an average daily income of some $12.2 million for Egypt in April, up by 24 percent over the same period of last year. A previous record was achieved earlier this year in March when the Canal reported a monthly income of about $352.6 million. The Suez Canal Authority announced in December that ships passing through the Canal would be required to pay additional fees as of April 1 of 2007, with the increase ranging from 1.14 percent for passenger ships to 3.73 percent for oil tankers. The canal is considered to be one of the busiest waterways in the world. Some 55 ships pass through it every day. The Suez Canal is one of Egypt s main income sources, after tourism and remittances by Egyptian workers from abroad. In 2006, the Canal collected a record revenue of $3.82 billion, up by some 10.6 percent over 2005.
