Hommam Al Nassim 
The head of the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, said that the project of full duplication of the navigational course of the canal is still in the study stage conducted by the authority.
Rabie explained that the study is carried out in cooperation with specialized international consulting companies to be completed within about 16 months, in preparation for presenting the project to the Egyptian government, provided that the necessary funding for the implementation of the project in the future is provided from the investment budget of the authority approved by the Ministry of Finance, without imposing any additional burdens on the state’s general budget.
Rabie stressed that the project will achieve the complete dualization of the canal in both directions, allowing to raise the classification of the canal and increase its competitiveness, as well as increase its numerical and absorptive capacity, to be able to accommodate all categories of ships of the global fleet and their sizes.
Rabie pointed out that the first phase of the southern sector development project has been completed by expanding the canal by 40 meters to the east, while work is underway to complete the second part of the development of the southern sector with a project to double the canal with the Lesser Bitter Lakes with a length of 10 km.
The expansion studies come after IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva last month estimated a 55% to 60% drop in traffic in the Suez Canal, which previously generated $700 million a month for Egypt, she said.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said last month that Suez Canal revenues had fallen by between 40% and 50% due to disruption of shipping in the Red Sea against the backdrop of Houthi attacks.