Awqaf Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa hailed the New Suez Canal project, which will be inaugurated on August 6.

In a statement, the minister said the new canal lane will be followed by development projects that will change the face of the Egyptian economy and help promote the country’s international standing.

On 5 August 2014, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi launched the new waterway project, which is being dug alongside the Suez Canal. It is meant to add an extra lane to the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important thoroughfares for trade, in an attempt to increase the number of ships using it each day.

The Suez Canal, which allows ships to travel from Europe to Asia without navigating around Africa, only provides for one-way traffic, with occasional room for ships to pass each other. The new lane will allow ships to travel in both directions