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Tag: abdel fattah al sissi
Egypt Announces Major Expansion At Suez Canal

Egypt Announces Major Expansion At Suez Canal

dpa

Cairo (dpa) — Egyptian authorities on Tuesday announced plans for a major upgrade of the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important waterways which connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.

The project will involve digging 35 kilometres of a new parallel canal and widening the existing canal along a further 37 kilometres, Suez Canal Authority chief Muhab Mumayish told a conference in Ismailiya.

The 193-kilometre canal, first opened in 1869, already has 80 kilometres of bypass waterways, according to the authority.

President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi told the conference that 17 Egyptian companies would be involved in implementing the project, under the supervision of the military.

Five new residential and tourism zones are also to be built, according to online reports by state-run newspaper Al-Ahram.

The newspaper quoted Mumayish as saying that the project would create a million jobs.

Al-Sissi asked for the new waterway to be completed within one year rather than the planned three years, Al-Ahram reported.

The president said that the project would be carried out without recourse to foreign funding, with shares and bonds being offered to Egyptian banks and to citizens.

Former army chief al-Sissi won the Egyptian presidency in May, almost a year after he deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

Al-Sissi recently promised the public a “surprise,” raising expectations that he would reveal plans for an economic boost after the government abolished fuel subsidies.

Photo via WikiCommons

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Egypt’s Al-Sissi Asks Outgoing Premier To Form New Government

Egypt’s Al-Sissi Asks Outgoing Premier To Form New Government

By Nehal el-Sherif and Pol O Gradaigh

CAIRO — New Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi has asked outgoing premier Ibrahim Mehleb to form a new government, local media reported Monday.

Mehleb confirmed his reappointment to reporters at the cabinet headquarters, saying he had not yet started consultations on ministerial appointments, independent newspaper al-Masry al-Youm reported.

The current government will remain in place for the moment in a caretaker capacity, the premier said, noting that al-Sissi’s Sunday night inauguration speech provided it with a “clear program” for the immediate future.

Mehleb had earlier submitted his government’s resignation to the new president, who swore the oath of office before the Supreme Constitutional Court on Sunday morning.

The new government will have to be approved by the parliament at its first session after legislative elections, which, according to the constitution, should begin by mid-July.

If the Council of Deputies rejects the government line-up and program, the president is to accept the nomination of a prime minister by the party or coalition holding a majority in the assembly.

Former army chief al-Sissi won last month’s presidential election with nearly 97 percent of the vote, on a turn-out of 47 percent.

Al-Sissi led the military in ousting Islamist president Mohammed Morsi last year in the wake of massive protests of the Muslim Brotherhood leader’s one-year rule.

The Brotherhood, now banned as a terrorist organization, continues to insist that the new authorities are illegitimate.

AFP Photo/Mosaab el-Shamy