Sisi calls for optimising S. Canal’s economic output

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has called for the formulation of such flexible marketing policies for the Suez Canal as would cope with global economic conditions and achieve balance between maintaining the waterway’s traffic rates and the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.

The President’s remarks came during a meeting he called with senior aides to follow up the performance and activities of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) and the projects now under way within the framework of  the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said.

Attending the meeting were Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli , Presidential Assistant for National and Strategic Projects Sherif Ismail, Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie, Suez Canal Economic Zone Chairman Yahya Zaki and the Director-General of the Armed Forces National Service Projects Organization Moustafa Amin.

In directives during the meeting, President Sisi called for introducing services that can draw cruising vessels in complementation with the developmental process now under way in the vicinity of the waterway, especially including the modern and highest-level ports of Ain Sokhna, East Port Said and Bernice, spokesman Radi said.

President Sisi also directed that efforts be continued to develop the capacities of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone and that state institutions collaborate in rendering the projects being implemented by the Authority successful.

This comes with a view to attracting diverse industrial investments and providing more direct and indirect job opportunities, thereby supporting the national economy and increasing foreign currency inflows.

The presidential directives followed presentations by SCA Chairman Rabie and SCZone Chairman Zaki.

The presentations outlined the Suez Canal’s volume of traffic during the past stage in the light of the coronavirus pandemic’s repercussions and the projections for this year. In this context, the SCA Chairman noted that the Suez Canal managed during the past stage to withstand the impact of the coronavirus pandemic as so indicated by the number of vessels, tonnages and aggregate revenues.

SCZone chiarman Zaki reviewed in his presentation the ongoing projects to develop and modernize the zone’s main sectors including the promotion of human resources and investment ventures. He also outlined the executive status of the Industrial Zone in East Port Said and the Ain Sokhna port, the country’s  main port on the Red Sea coast that connects the ports of the Middle East, South Asia and East Africa.