Original news was published on 29 December, 2014
162 million cubic meters dug to date
Excavation at the Suez Canal Development Project has reached its first milestone. According to a statement from the Egyptian government, after 140 days of work, 162 million cubic meters have been excavated. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Dec. 25, Army Engineering Authority Major General Kamel el-Wazir said the number of workers at the site of the new project hit 22,000 engineers, technicians and workers.
The government’s goal for the Suez Canal expansion is to increase the canal’s position as a global industrial and logistical center. The project will see a 45-mile canal constructed parallel to the existing canal. The second or New Suez Canal will allow vessels to travel in both directions between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, which is currently impossible due to the width of the canal at several points. The New Suez Canal works involves 35 kilometers of dry digging and 37 kilometers of expansion and deep digging.
The construction, which was originally scheduled to take three years, will be completed in one year as ordered by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
*NEWS SOURCE
