ISMAILIYA: Egypt s income from Suez Canal transit fees reached a record $324.6 million in May, the canal authority said Sunday. A total of 1,563 ships crossed the canal in May, up from 1,466 for the same period last year, generating an extra $42 million dollars, a canal official said. The tonnage soared by eight million tons over the same period to reach 61.8 million tons last month but the record income can also be explained by growing traffic and recently hiked transit fees. The 160 km canal was inaugurated in 1869 and connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and separates mainland Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula. It generates Egypt s third largest source of income after the tourism industry and remittances from expatriate workers. Egypt will mark the 50th anniversary of the canal s handover from Britain on Wednesday. The canal was nationalized by Gamal Abdel Nasser on July 26, 1956. AFP
Egypt rakes in record Suez Canal income
