In 1859, nearly a million of ancient Egyptian led by the governor of Egypt then Amro –ibn Alass started digging banks that links Africa and Asia (Now the old Suez Canal) as a possible way to link the Nile, Red and the Mediterranean sea. In this effort more than 120,000 Egyptians lost their lives.
The UK, France and others European super powers saw the digging of the Suez Canal as waste of time.
After 10 years (1869), the canal was opened and it eventually became the first canal to link the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Egypt being a desert country majorly depending on industrialisation, the current president Abdel Fattah Al -Sisi launched a project to modernise the canal to allow flow of ships from south and northern gate at the same time to eventually double the foreign exchange from the canal.
With loans offers from the Asian and European countries, Egypt was stuck with a decision whether to pick billions of pounds from Europe to construct the new canal or not to.
But through domestic channels, they raised 60 billon pounds in 8 days which was surplus to what they needed.
On the 5th /8/2014 President Abdel Fattah Elsis launched the re-construction of the canal and was supposed to take three years
Using 100% Egyptian labour, the new canal was built in just one year opening the new southern ship route allowing 24hr flow of ships from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea
To date, Egyptian earnings from the old and new canal has increased to 12.5 billion Egyptian pounds annually from 5 billion pounds.
Using part of this money, the government has constructed the dream cities of Port Said and Suez just adjacent to the canal.
Industrial hubs, roads and fish projects in billions of Egyptian pound have been set up as a result of the increase in revenue from the two canals.
Currently Egypt is one of the African giants taking a lead in development and preaching a better independent African continent.
