Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos arrived here on Thursday to take part in the inauguration of the new Suez Canal that will allow for the first time since the opening of the navigation route in 1869, ships to sail in two directions.

A number of world leaders and delegations representing more than 90 states are to take part in the massive inauguration ceremony of the new Canal.

The new 72-kilometer waterway, built in less than a year at a cost of 60 billion EGP, runs part of the way alongside the existing canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

The enlarged canal is to allow more ships to sail through the waterway and will cut transit time from 18 to 11 hours.