Addis Ababa, 7August ,2015(WIC)-A high-level Ethiopian delegation led by Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn left Thursday for Egypt to attend the inaugural ceremony of the new Suez Canal.
The multibillion-dollar expansion of the Suez Canal will be formally inaugurated on Friday in the presence of several regional heads of state and government.
Built 146 years ago, the Suez Canal is one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lines and a key source of international trade.
Dubbed the Suez Canal Axis, the new 72-kilometre project is aimed at speeding up traffic along the existing waterway by reducing the waiting period for vessels, as well as boosting revenue.
It will run part of the way along the existing canal that connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.
The $8 billion new Canal was initially scheduled to take five years to construct. It was then first reduced to three years and finally ordered by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to be completed within a year.
It is expected to more than double Suez revenue from 5.3 billion dollars expected at the end of 2015 to 13.2 billion dollars by 2023. (http://en.starafrica.com/)