Egypt hires German firm for Suez Canal construction work

Posted on : Monday, 24th November 2014

The engineering division of the Egyptian armed forces has announced that Egypt will use machines made by a German firm to bore at least four tunnels under the Suez Canal project, in a US$8 billion project of expanding the waterway and through which the government seeks to raise more revenues and foreign currency reserves.

Kamal al-Waziri said on Thursday that the Egyptian army had contracted a German company to provide machines for three car and train tunnels in Port Said, the northern outlet of Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea.

The expansion of the Suez Canal waterway is expected to triple revenues from by 2023 to US$13.5 billion from US$5 billion, a project through which the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hopes to revive the economy battered by political turmoil.

Al-Sisi has put infrastructure mega projects the top of his economic agenda and has called for a speedy completion of the new canal within one year instead of the five years recommended by experts.

Half of the budget for expanding the canal was allocated for building six tunnels and are being built by Oracsom Construction and other Arab contractors.

The development will run alongside the existing 145-year old waterway, which is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

The Suez Canal project was started off earlier on this year, with reports indicating it would cost US$4bn.