The Suez Canal Authority says there are plans to expand and deepen the southern stretch of the waterway where the container ship Ever Given got stuck in March, Chairman Osama Rabie said in a televised address on Tuesday.
Mr Rabie presented the plan at an event attended by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, where a number of other projects were inaugurated including a museum and a stadium.
Egyptian authorities impounded the hulking Ever Given, which blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week, halting billions of dollars in maritime commerce.
An Egyptian court last week rejected an appeal by the owner of Ever Given over the court-ordered seizure of the vessel due to a financial dispute.
The Suez Canal Authority said the vessel would not be allowed to leave the country until a compensation amount was agreed upon with the vessel’s Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha.
A court in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia ordered the seizure of the vessel earlier this month. The Ever Given’s owner filed an appeal on April 22 in hopes of overturning the decision.
The Economic Court of Ismailia upheld the seizure decision.
The Suez Canal Authority has demanded $916 million in compensation, according to the UK Club, an insurer of the Ever Given. That amount takes into account the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic and lost transit fees for the week the Ever Given blocked the canal.
Follow us on: