News

         ISMAILIA (Egypt), Jan 27:THE Suez Canal Authority is confident that transit tolls would remain steady in 2010 for the second straight year and expects 2.4 per cent growth in revenues this year.

        The Authority’s Chairman, Mr Ahmed Fadel, said that although canal revenues had decreased by 20 per cent in 2009 due to battered trade volumes during the global economic slowdown, piracy off the Gulf of Aden had little impact on the waterway.

       “To support global trade movement and (help) shipping companies overcome the financial crisis, we have decided to keep the tolls steady,” Mr Fadel said.

         He explained that the Authority could not consider reviewing tolls depending on fuel prices alone, but also on the basis of recovery of the global economy and how shipping fared.

         He revealed that Canal revenues in 2009 were $ 4.291 billion, some 20 per cent lower than the $ 5.381 billion in 2008, some 17,228 vessels passed through the Canal in 2009, as against 21,415 vessels in 2008, a fall of 20 per cent.