Egypt: Sisi welcomes New Suez Canal project with massive military parade

A large military parade, with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi observing from the helm of a ship, dazzled attendees at Egypt’s Suez Canal, Thursday, as a warm-up for the inauguration ceremony of the New Suez Canal project. Sisi was joined by several officials aboard the historic El-Mahrous yacht, at the vanguard of a large military parade, including SA-342 Gazelle helicopters, Hongdu JL-8 planes, and several war ships to celebrate the opening of the canal expansion project. The estimated $8.2bn (€ 7.52bn) venture includes 72km (44.7m) of new channels and bypasses, and is expected to be able to take 97 ships a day by 2023, up from the current 49. The transit time for ships to pass through the canal from north to south will reportedly be reduced from 18 to 11 hours. French President Francois Hollande and Russian Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev are among several dignitaries due to join the inauguration ceremony later in the day. The Russian politician has stated that Moscow would be willing to establish a Russian industrial zone at the new project site in the future.