The Suez Canal has achieved the highest transfer rate to the state’s public budget in its history during the current fiscal year (FY), the ministry of finance revealed in a press statement.
The ministry of finance disclosed that the canal’s transfers reached EGP 72.2bn during the current FY after covering the operating, maintenance, and expansions of the Suez Canal.
The Suez Canal, which is 193,000 metres long, is considered the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia as it shortens the transport time between them by about 15 days on average, and with that level of importance, it is a major source of hard currency for Egypt.
Meanwhile, the canal’s revenues witnessed a remarkable increase, recording EGP 104.2bn in FY 2018/19, up from EGP 74.2bn in the last FY–a growth of 40.4%.
The statement explained that this boom in revenues inevitably led to an increase in the state’s public budget payables that are represented in the revenue claims and the surplus in revenues.
In that context, the ministry of finance also added that the state’s public budget claims recorded EGP 72.2bn in FY 2018/19, up from EGP 52.9bn in FY 2016/17, which is a growth of 36.5%.
