The Suez Canal Authority has that announced.
Wider, deeper, double
On Saturday, an urgent start was made on the implementation of the plans, which had been on the shelf for some time. The part of the canal with a double navigation channel will be extended by 10 kilometers.
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In addition, the canal will be wider and deeper over a length of 30 kilometers. In width, 40 meters will be added and the channel will be 2.4 meters deeper.
Blocking ship
Egyptian President Al-Sisi had demanded that work begin immediately and be completed as soon as possible. It is not yet clear when exactly that will be.
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It is not surprising that extra haste is required for the work. In late March, the giant container ship Ever Given blocked the channel for six days. As a result, no ship could pass through in either direction.
That costs the Egyptian treasury a lot of money. Every day that there was no sailing, the Channel Authority lost about 12 million euros in toll revenue.
Ship remains moored
The ship is now anchored in one of the lakes in the canal. It will remain there until the Japanese shipping company and the Canal Authority agree on compensation.
The Egyptian authorities want to receive EUR 493 million in fees from the shipping company. Including for excavation, dredging and towing costs incurred.
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It is also possible that half of the claimed compensation would consist of compensation for damage to reputation.
Total damage in the billions
All this is nothing compared to the total costs of the blockade. The blockage may have before 5 to 8 billion euros in damage because deliveries came too late, calculated insurer Allianz.
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