British Minister And Delegation Sail On Egypt’s New Suez Canal

British minister Tobias Ellwood, accompanied by a British delegation of businesspeople, sailed on the new Suez Canal Wednesday, becoming the first foreign delegation to tour the new project.

The British Minister for the Middle East and North Africa expressed his hope that some of the British companies accompanying him “will be able to do business here and bring their great British expertise to make this project a success.”

The expansion of the canal, due for completion by August 2015, is estimated by the government to more than double the canal’s revenues by 2023.

Ellwood was greeted at the canal by Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mameesh, a press communiqué by the British embassy in Cairo read.

Minister Ellwood said the Suez Canal Development Project “represents an enormous opportunity for Egypt and for British companies.”

The British minister is on a three-day visit to Egypt, leading the largest British trade mission to come to Egypt in over 10 years.

The artificial waterway which connects the Mediterranean and Red Sea is one of the country’s main sources of foreign currency reserves, along with tourism and remittances from Egyptian expatriates.

The canal generated some $5.2 billion in revenues during the 2012/2013 fiscal year.

Source : Ahram online