The chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said Tuesday that part of the waterway would be widened after it was shut down in March by a grounded cargo ship that blocked traffic in both directions for nearly a week.
Reuters reported that Osama Rabie made the comments during a televised address Tuesday announcing that the plans had been presented to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who instructed the project to be completed within two years.
One section of the canal would be both widened and deepened under the plans presented by the SCA, according to Reuters, specifically an 18-mile section located between the city of Suez and the region known as Bitter Lakes, which would be widened by 130 feet and deepened by six feet.
A second canal lane located north of Great Bitter Lake would also be lengthened as part of the project, allowing for more ships to pass through that section.
Rabie said during his address that the six-day March stranding of the Ever Given cargo ship had served to stress the urgency of such a project.
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JUST IN: Portion of Suez Canal to be widened after blockage caused by grounded ship, official says https://t.co/LMmvbb9OIA pic.twitter.com/exzBGlH5Pb
— The Hill (@thehill) May 11, 2021
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