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Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended on Tuesday morning the inauguration of a 45 mile-long waterway to be dug alongside the Suez Canal, Al Ahram reported.
The new artificial waterway will cost $4 billion, according to Mohab Memish, head of the Suez Canal.
El-Sisi announced that digging will be finished by mid-2015 – a lot sooner than the three years previously announced for the project.
Seventeen civilian companies have been chosen to carry out the project, in cooperation with military companies and under the supervision of the armed forces.
The new canal is part of the Suez Canal Development mega project, which includes the development of several seaports in the three governorates bordering the canal – Suez, Ismailia and Port Said – in addition to a seaport in the South Sinai city of Nuweiba and the development of Sharm Al-Sheikh airport.
