Egypt signed contracts with six international firms to dredge new Suez Canal

Egypt on 18 October 2014 signed contracts with six international firms to carry out dredging of the new Suez Canal. Construction of the new Suez Canal is the flagship project under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's program to revive an economy battered by years of political turmoil.

The companies are National Marine Dredging Company NMDC.AD of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Royal Boskalis Westminster (BOSN.AS) and Van Oord of the Netherlands; Jan de Nul Group and Deme Group of Belgium and US-based Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company (GLDD.O).

The total project would require up to 36 dredgers to remove about 250 million cubic meters worth of material. However, the financial details of the contracts were not provided.

New Suez Canal
The new Suez Canal is to be built alongside the existing 145-year-old Suez Canal which is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia. The new canal is scheduled to be completed by August 2015, a target set by Sisi.

The new 72-km waterway project includes 35 km of dry digging and 37 km of expansion and deepening of the current canal with a total cost of more than 8 billion US dollars.

The national project also includes the digging of six new tunnels underneath the New Suez Canal that will be constructed simultaneously.