The chairperson of the Suez Canal Authority and the Suez Canal Economic Zone, Mohab Mamish expects a $700m increase in revenues of the Suez Canal by the end of this year compared to 2017. He continued that the Suez Canal revenues will double before 2023, explaining that the authority was aiming to achieve double the revenues by 2023, noting that the figures indicate that Egypt can perhaps achieve double the current revenues from the Suez Canal before 2023. He added that the cost of the new Suez Canal is about EGP 20.417bn, noting that this year's revenues equal the cost of digging the new canal. On the other hand, Mamish noted that the last year witnessed the passage of more than 1m tonnes of goods through the Suez Canal. Moreover, Mamish explained that the economic zone is promising, and within a year from now, it will be the first competitor to other economic zones. His remarks came during his speech marking the third anniversary of the new Suez Canal. Notably, Egypt is celebrating the third anniversary of the new Suez Canal, as it was inaugurated on 6 August 2015 with the aim of improving the Egyptian economy. Previously, Mamish explained that the new Suez Canal aims to increase the Egyptian national income from foreign currency, achieve the largest proportion of double transit of vessels along the shipping route, reduce the waiting time, and thus meet the expected increase in the volume of trade exchange.
