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Thursday, 12 May 2016

Talk of bypassing the Suez Canal is a ploy to get Egypt to lower Suez Canal fees, says Darwish

An Israeli freight rail linking the Red Sea port of Eilat with Ashdod in the Mediterranean and Chinese shipping using the melted Arctic Sea will not be as economically viable as using the Suez Canal, said Abdel Qader Darwish, head of the Suez Canal Economic Development Zone. Transporting a container through the the Israeli freight link will cost USD 1,200, as opposed to only USD 80 for the Suez Canal. As for China using the Arctic Sea, he added that the route will only be viable for four months in the year. Using the route will also cost Chinese ships USD 60,000 per day on average due to the need for icebreakers, he tells Al Borsa. He added that these reports are being used to pressure Egypt into lowering the transit fees on the Suez Canal further. (Read in Arabic)

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