Egypt marked the 8th anniversary of the New Suez Canal on Sunday. Between the fiscal years 2013–14 and 2022–23, canal traffic increased by 55.1 percent, while revenue increased by 77.4 percent, from $5.3 billion to $9.4 billion.

The Suez Canal has grown by about 17.8% to a total length of 193.3 kilometers since its opening on August 6, 2015, and its depth has more than quadrupled to 24 meters.

With this increased capacity, the canal can now hold 45 ships at once that are a width and are moving in both directions. Due to this, the average ship passage time has decreased from 18 hours in 2014 to 11 hours in 2023.

Since its refurbishment, the canal has shattered previous records; in the first quarter of 2023, revenues totaled $2.3 billion, with $904.4 million coming in just in April.

A record 107 ships passed through the canal without halting on March 13th.

The parallel waterway was initially financed by investment certificates that the Egyptian government offered to Egyptian citizens and which were worth a total of EGP 64 billion at the time.

The Suez Canal and its associated waterway carry around 12% of all world trade, making it Egypt’s second-largest source of income after tourism.