Suez Canal opens - Nov 17, 1869 - HISTORY.com Suez Canal opens Publisher A+E Networks The Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean and the Red seas, is inaugurated in an elaborate ceremony attended by French Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. In 1854, Ferdinand de Lesseps, the former French consul to Cairo, secured an agreement with the Ottoman governor of Egypt to build a canal 100 miles across the Isthmus of Suez. An international team of engineers drew up a construction plan, and in 1856 the Suez Canal Company was formed and granted the right to operate the canal for 99 years after completion of the work. Construction began in April 1859, and at first digging was done by hand with picks and shovels wielded by forced laborers. Later, European workers with dredgers and steam shovels arrived. Labor disputes and a cholera epidemic slowed construction, and the Suez Canal was not completed until 1869–four years behind schedule. On November 17, 1869, the Suez Canal was opened to navigation.

Ferdinand de Lesseps would later attempt, unsuccessfully, to build a canal across the Isthmus of Panama. When it opened, the Suez Canal was only 25 feet deep, 72 feet wide at the bottom, and 200 to 300 feet wide at the surface. Consequently, fewer than 500 ships navigated it in its first full year of operation. Major improvements began in 1876, however, and the canal soon grew into the one of the world’s most heavily traveled shipping lanes. In 1875, Great Britain became the largest shareholder in the Suez Canal Company when it bought up the stock of the new Ottoman governor of Egypt. Seven years later, in 1882, Britain invaded Egypt, beginning a long occupation of the country. The Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936 made Egypt virtually independent, but Britain reserved rights for the protection of the canal.

After World War II, Egypt pressed for evacuation of British troops from the Suez Canal Zone, and in July 1956 Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the canal, hoping to charge tolls that would pay for construction of a massive dam on the Nile River. In response, Israel invaded in late October, and British and French troops landed in early November, occupying the canal zone. Under pressure from the United Nations, Britain and France withdrew in December, and Israeli forces departed in March 1957. That month, Egypt took control of the canal and reopened it to commercial shipping. Ten years later, Egypt shut down the canal again following the Six Day War and Israel’s occupation of the Sinai Peninsula. For the next eight years, the Suez Canal, which separates the Sinai from the rest of Egypt, existed as the front line between the Egyptian and Israeli armies. In 1975, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat reopened the Suez Canal as a gesture of peace after talks with Israel. Today, an average of 50 ships navigate the canal daily, carrying more than 300 million tons of goods a year.

Related Videos Canal History Canal History Time in SC: GMT+2 Canal & The Society The Suez Canal ’s role is not confined to servicing the world trade. It goes beyond that to serve the Canal Zone community ... Canal History Historical Outline: Egypt was the first country to dig a man-made canal across its lands to connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea via the branches of the River Nile. The first who dug it was Senausert III, Pharaoh of Egypt (1874 B.C.). This canal was abandoned to silting and reopened several times as follows: - Canal of Sity I 640 A.D. The Suez Canal is actually the first canal that directly links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It was opened for navigation on the 17 th of November 1869. Egypt nationalized the canal on the 26 th of July 1956. The Canal was closed five times; the last time was the most serious one since it lasted for 8 years. The Canal was then reopened for navigation on the 5 th of June 1975.

Suez Canal History: It is recorded that Egypt was the first country to dig a canal across its land with a view to activate world trade. The Suez Canal is considered to be the shortest link between the east and the west due to its unique geographic location; it is an important international navigation canal linking between the Mediterranean sea at Port said and the red sea at Suez. The idea of linking the Mediterranean sea with the red sea by a canal dates back to 40 centuries as it was pointed out through history starting by the pharaohs era passing by the Islamic era until it was dredged reaching its current condition today. It is considered to be the first artificial canal to be used in Travel and Trade. The Whole Idea of establishing a canal linking between the red sea and the Mediterranean dates back to the oldest times, as Egypt dredged the first artificial canal on the planet’s surface. The pharaohs dredged a canal link in between river Nile and the red sea. The inscriptions in the tomb of Weni the Elder, who lived during the 6th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom (c.

2407-2260 BC) tell us a lot about Egyptian canal building and the reasons for building them - (for war ships and for transporting monument stone). Scholars are still debating, however, whether his waterways ran all the way from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. The first canal was dug under the reign of Senausret III, Pharao of Egypt (1887-1849 BC) linking the Mediterranean Sea in the north with the Red sea in the south via the river Nile and its branches. The Canal often abandoned to silting and was successfully reopened to navigation by Sity I (1310 BC), Necho II (610 BC), Persian King Darius (522 BC), Polemy II (285 BC), Emperor Trajan (117 AD) and Amro Ibn Elass (640 AD), following the Islamic conquest. Under Necho II , a canal was built between the Pelusian branch of the Nile and the northern end of the Bitter Lakes (which lies between the two seas) at a cost of, reportedly, 100,000 lives.

However, over many years, the canal fell into disrepair, only to be extended, abandoned, and rebuilt again. Necho was the first who attempted the channel leading to the Erythraian Sea (Red sea and Gulf of Suez which was extended to near by Ismailia city), which Dareios the Persian afterwards completed: the length of this is a voyage of four days, and in breadth it was so dug that two triremes could go side by side driven by oars; and the water is brought into it from the Nile.

The channel is conducted a little above the city of Bubastis (near by Zagazig city) by Patumos the Arabian city (Near by Ismailia city), and runs into the Erythraian Sea: and it is dug first along those parts of the plain of Egypt which lie towards Arabia (Eastern desert), just above which run the mountains which extend opposite Memphis (south of Cairo), where are the stone-quarries,--along the base of these mountains the channel is conducted from West to East for a great way; and after that it is directed towards a break in the hills and tends from these mountains towards the noon-day and the South Wind to the Arabian gulf (Gulf of Suez).

Now in the place where the journey is least and shortest from the Northern to the Southern Sea (which is also called Erythraian), that is from Mount Casion (east of Port Said), which is the boundary between Egypt and Syria, the distance is exactly a thousand furlongs (1 furlongs equals about 200 meter) to the Arabian gulf; but the channel is much longer, since it is more winding; and in the reign of Necos there perished while digging it twelve myriads of the Egyptians. Now Necos ceased in the midst of his digging, because the utterance of an Oracle impeded him, which was to the effect that he was working for the Barbarian: and the Egyptians call all men Barbarians who do not agree with them in speech. After having been neglected, it was rebuilt by the Persian ruler, Darius I (522-486 BC), whose canal can still be seen along the Wadi Tumilat. According to Herodotus, his canal was wide enough that two triremes could pass each other with oars extended, and that it took four days to navigate.

He commemorated the completion of his canal with a series of granite stelae set up along the Nile bank. This canal is said to have been extended to the Red Sea by Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 BC), abandoned during the early Roman rule, but rebuilt again by Trajan (98-117 AD). Over the next several centuries, it once again was abandoned and sometimes dredged by various rulers for various but limited purposes. Amro Ibn Elass rebuilt the canal after the Islamic takeover of Egypt linking the Nile to the Red Sea creating a new supply line from Cairo . It was used for shipping grain to Arabia and to transport the pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The canal was stopped up in 767 AD by the Abbasid caliph El-Mansur to cut off supplies to insurgents located in the Delta and to starve out rebels in Medina. In modern times the Suez Canal is actually the first canal directly linking the Mediterranean to the Red sea. The first efforts to build a modern canal came from the Egypt expedition of Napoleon Bonaparte, who hoped the project would create a devastating trade problem for the English.

Though this project was begun in 1799 by Charles Le Pere, a miscalculation estimated that the levels between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea were too great (estimating that the Red Sea was some ten meters higher than that of the Mediterranean Sea) and work was quickly suspended. Napoleon was told that the Red Sea was 30 feet higher than the Mediterranean. Dig a canal, his surveyors said, and the Red Sea will hemorrhage into the Mediterranean. Napoleon's engineers also considered the idea of a canal running directly between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, but they miscalculated a difference of ten meters between the two sea levels and gave up the idea, and it would sweep away the Nile Delta. Then, in 1833, a group of French intellectuals known as the Saint-Simoniens arrived in Cairo and they became very interested in the Suez project despite such problems as the difference in sea levels. Unfortunately, at that time Mohammed Ali had little interest in the project, and in 1835, the Saint-Simoniens were devastated by a plague epidemic. Most of the twenty or so engineers returned to France.

They did leave behind several enthusiasts for the canal, including Ferdinand de Lesseps (who was then the French vice-consul in Alexandria) and Linant de Bellefonds In Paris, the Saint-Simoniens created an association in 1846 to study the possibility of the Suez Canal once again. In 1847, Bourdaloue confirmed that there was no real difference in the levels between the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and it was Linant de Bellefonds that drew up the technical report. Unfortunately, there was considerable British opposition to the project, and Mohammed Ali, who was ill by this time, was less than enthusiastic. In 1854 the French diplomat and engineer Vicomte Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps succeeded in enlisting the interest of the Egyptian viceroy Said Pasha in the project. In 1858 La Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez (Universal Company of the Maritime Suez Canal) was formed with authority to cut a canal and to operate it for 99 years, after which ownership would return to the Egyptian government. The company was originally a private Egyptian concern, its stock owned chiefly by French and Egyptian interests.

In 1875 the British government purchased Egypt's shares. The pilot study estimated that a total of 2,613 million cubic feet of earth would have to be moved, including 600 million on land, and another 2,013 million dredged from water. The total original cost estimate was 200 million francs. When at first the company ran into financial problems, it was Pasha Said who purchased 44 percent of the company to keep it in operation. However, the British and Turks were concerned with the venture and managed to have work suspended for a short time, until the intervention of Napoleon III. Excavation of the canal actually began on April 25th, 1859, and between then and 1862, the first part of the canal was completed. However, after Ismail succeeded Pasha Said in 1863, the work was again suspended. After Ferdinand De Lesseps again appealed to Napoleon III, an international commission was formed in March of 1864. The commission resolved the problems and within three years, the canal was completed.

On November 17, 1869 the barrage of the Suez plains reservoir was breached and waters of the Mediterranean flowed into the Red Sea and the canal was opened for international navigation. Completion of the 160- kilometer long waterway, however, took ten years of excruciating and poorly compensated labor by Egyptian workers, who were drafted at the rate of 20,000 every ten months from the ranks of the peasantry. The completion of the Suez Canal was a cause for considerable celebration. In Port Said , the extravaganza began with fireworks and a ball attended by six thousand people. They included many heads of state, including the Empress Eugenie, the Emperor of Austria, the Prince of Wales, the Prince of Prussia and the Prince of the Netherlands. Two convoys of ships entered the canal from its southern and northern points and met at Ismailia. Parties continued for weeks, and the celebration also marked the opening of Ismail's old Opera House in Cairo , which is now gone.

Because of external debts, the British government purchased the shares owned by Egyptian interests, namely those of Said Pasha, in 1875, for some 400,000 pounds sterling. Yet France continued to have a majority interest. Under the terms of an international convention signed in 1888 (The Convention of Constantinople), the canal was opened to vessels of all nations without discrimination, in peace and war. Nevertheless, Britain considered the canal vital to the maintenance of its maritime power and colonial interests. Therefore, the provisions of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 allowed Britain to maintain a defensive force along the Suez Canal Zone. However, Egyptian nationalists demanded repeatedly that Britain evacuate the Suez Canal Zone, and in 1954 the two countries signed a seven-year agreement that superseded the 1936 treaty and provided for the gradual withdrawal of all British troops from the zone. The canal remained under the control of two powers until Nasser nationalized it in 1956; it has since been operated by the Suez Canal Authority . The canal was closed to navigation twice in the contemporary period.

The first closure was brief, coming after the tripartite British-French-Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956, an invasion primarily motivated by the nationalization of the waterway. The canal was reopened in 1957. The second closure occurred after the June 1967 War with Israel and lasted until 1975, when Egypt and Israel signed the second disengagement accord. After July 1952 Revolution, president Gamal Abd El Naser publicized the canal in announcement in (26 July, 1956) making the management of the canal a 100% Egyptian, which enraged the major countries leading to the Triad assault on Egypt in (29 October, 1956) which caused to the closing of the canal and it was reopened in (march 1957). Canal History 13th century BCE, A canal is constructed between the Nile Delta and the Red Sea. For the following centuries, the canal was only partially maintained... 1854, By a French initiative, the viceroy of Egypt, Said Pasha, decides for a project to build a canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea...

1858, La Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez is formed to construct the canal. 17 Nov 1869, With great splendour, the canal is opened for navigation. Dimensions were 22 metre in bottom width, 58 metre in surface width, and a depth of 8 metres... 2 Mar 1888, The Convention of Constantinople guaranteed right of passage of all ships through the Suez Canal during war and peace... 13 Jun 1956, Suez Canal Zone restored to Egypt. 26 Jul 1956, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal. 5 Jun 1975, Suez Canal reopened... Suez Canal: History and Overview - Geography Geography Suez Canal Connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea Egptian Suez Canal Has Been Center of Conflict The guided missile destroyer USS Scott transits the Suez Canal. Getty Images Suez Canal Construction History Although the Suez Canal wasn't officially completed until 1869, there is a long history of interest in connecting both the Nile River in Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.

It is believed that the first canal in the area was constructed between the Nile River delta and the Red Sea in the 13th Century B.C.E. During the 1,000 years following its construction, the original canal was neglected and its use finally stopped in the 8th Century. The first modern attempts to build a canal came in the late 1700s when Napoleon Bonaparte conducted an expedition to Egypt. He believed that building a French controlled canal on the Isthmus of Suez would cause trade problems for the British as they would either have to pay dues to France or continue sending goods over land or around the southern part of Africa. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge Studies for Napoleon's canal plan began in 1799 but a miscalculation in measurement showed the sea levels between the Mediterranean and the Red Seas as being too different for a canal to be feasible and construction immediately stopped. The next attempt to build a canal in the area occurred in the mid-1800s when a French diplomat and engineer, Ferdinand de Lesseps, convinced the Egyptian viceroy Said Pasha to support the building of a canal.

In 1858, the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company was formed and given the right to begin construction of the canal and operate it for 99 years, after which time, the Egyptian government would take over control of the canal. At its founding, the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company was owned by French and Egyptian interests. Construction of the Suez Canal officially began on April 25, 1859. It opened ten years later on November 17, 1869 at a cost of $100 million. Suez Canal Use and Control Almost immediately after its opening, the Suez Canal had a significant impact on world trade as goods were moved around the world in record time. In 1875, debt forced Egypt to sell its shares in ownership of the Suez Canal to the United Kingdom . However, an international convention in 1888 made the canal available for all ships from any nation to use. Shortly thereafter, conflicts began to arise over use and control of the Suez Canal. In 1936 for example, the U.K. was given the right to maintain military forces in the Suez Canal Zone and control entry points.

In 1954, Egypt and the U.K. signed a seven year contract that resulted in the withdrawal of British forces from the canal area and allowed Egypt to take control of the former British installations. In addition, with the creation of Israel in 1948, the Egyptian government prohibited the use of the canal by ships coming and going from the country. Also in the 1950s, the Egyptian government was working on a way to finance the Aswan High Dam . Initially it had support from the United States and the U.K. but in July 1956, both nations withdrew their support and the Egyptian government seized and nationalized the canal so passage fees could be used to pay for the dam. On October 29 of that same year, Israel invaded Egypt and two days later Britain and France followed on grounds that passage through the canal was to be free. In retaliation, Egypt blocked the canal by intentionally sinking 40 ships. These events were known as the Suez Crisis. In November 1956, the Suez Crisis ended when the United Nations arranged a truce between the four nations. The Suez Canal then reopened in March 1957 when the sunken ships were removed.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the Suez Canal was closed several more times because of conflicts between Egypt and Israel. In 1962, Egypt made its final payments for the canal to its original owners (the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company) and the nation took full control of the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal Today Today, the Suez Canal is operated by the Suez Canal Authority. The canal itself is 101 miles (163 km) long and 984 feet (300 m) wide. It begins at the Mediterranean Sea at Point Said flows through Ismailia in Egypt, and ends at Suez on the Gulf of Suez. It also has a railroad running its entire length parallel to its west bank. The Suez Canal can accommodate ships with a vertical height (draft) of 62 feet (19 m) or 210,000 deadweight tons. Most of the Suez Canal is not wide enough for two ships to pass side by side. To accommodate this, there is one shipping lane and several passing bays where ships can wait for others to pass.

The Suez Canal has no locks because Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea's Gulf of Suez have approximately the same water level. It takes around 11 to 16 hours to pass through the canal and ships must travel at a low speed to prevent erosion of the canal's banks by the ships' waves. Significance of the Suez Canal In addition to dramatically reducing transit time for trade worldwide, the Suez Canal is one of the world's most significant waterways as it supports 8% of the world's shipping traffic and almost 50 ships pass through the canal daily. Because of its narrow width, the canal is also considered a significant geographic chokepoint as it could easily be blocked and disrupt this flow of trade. Future plans for the Suez Canal include a project to widen and deepen the canal to accommodate the passage of larger and more ships at one time. To read more about the Suez Canal visit the Suez Canal Authority official website.

New Suez Canal to Officially Open in Egypt - Israel News New Suez Canal to Officially Open in Egypt “The waters made it great, the deep set it upon high with its rivers running around its plants, and it sent out its little canals to all the trees of the field.” (Ezekiel 31:4) Port Suez, the southern exit of the Suez Canal. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) Egypt is set to open the new Suez Canal on August 6, only one year after construction began on the project. Egypt hopes that the new canal will revitalize the country’s economy and bring the 150-year-old waterway into the 21st century. A recent test run of the canal was completed on July 25, with numerous boats, including a fully loaded container ship, traveling through the canal that connects the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea. The naval passage was originally opened on November 17, 1869, after ten years of construction. The canal allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia or Eastern Africa without navigating around the entire African continent, cutting approximately 7,000 kilometers off of the sea voyage for trading ships between Europe and Southeast Asia.

Egyptian authorities have declared the passage safe for all types of maritime ships. The new 72 kilometer (45 mile) section of the canal, which will be called the Suez Canal Axis, was built by the Egyptian military and is supposed to reduce the travel time needed to cross the canal as well as boost revenues for Egypt. “We declare that the new Suez Canal is safe for all kinds of vessels. We call on all the international maritime carriers to use the current and the new Suez canal. Your navigation is safe,” said Suez Canal Authority chief Mohab Mameesh during a news conference held in the canal city of Ismailiya in late July. “By reducing the navigation time in the Suez Canal, your food, your medicine and your fuel will arrive faster. It will be Egypt’s gift to the world,” Mameesh said. Work on the canal consisted of 37 kilometers of dry digging and 35 kilometers of broadening and expanding the existing waterway. It is expected to shave off 7 hours from the journey it takes to cross the canal, shortening the trip from 18 hours to 11 hours.

The project took place under very heavy security, as the Sinai peninsula, which borders the canal, has suffered from continuous attacks by Islamist insurgents which have killed hundreds of police officers and soldiers since 2013. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi set an ambitious target by launching the project and setting a completion date for one year. This is the first step in a broader plan to revolutionize the Egyptian trade economy. According to Sisi’s plan, the canal will help develop the surrounding area into an industrial and commercial hub that will contain new ports, and will also be able to provide shipping services. The Suez Canal Axis is part of a national project that is aimed at kickstarting the economy, which has been struggling since the riots which brought about the eventual fall of former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Sisi hopes that the canal will become a source of national pride and that it will create jobs to combat the double-digit unemployment rate from which Egypt currently suffers. By selling shares to domestic investors, the government raised $9 billion for the project.

The expanded canal is expected to more than double the expected annual revenues from $5.3 billion in 2015, to $13.2 billion in just eight years. It is already one of the world’s most heavily utilized shipping lanes and has been a key focus for international trade worldwide. Egyptian authorities hope that the industrial center as well as the shipping lines will eventually make up one-third of the Egyptian economy. Please fill in a valid value for all required fields Please ensure all values are in a proper format. Are you sure you want to leave this form and resume later? You must upload one of the following file types for the selected field: There was an error displaying the form. Please copy and paste the embed code again. Apply Discount Egypt Opens New £6bn Suez Canal Weather Egypt Opens New £6bn Suez Canal The extension has been dubbed "The Great Egyptian Dream" amid hopes it will turn around the country's economy. 01:13, UK, Thursday 06 August 2015 Video: Suez Canal: Prosperity For Egypt? By Sherine Tadros, Sky News Amid much anticipation, pomp and ceremony Egypt's new addition to the Suez Canal has been unveiled.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi signed an order to allow ships to cross the canal and boarded an historic yacht to welcome foreign dignitaries including French President Francois Hollande and Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev. The yacht El Mahrousa was the first ship to pass through the canal when it was first opened in 1869. Image Caption: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi arrives to attend the celebrations The colossal engineering project was been declared a national accomplishment and Egyptian television broadcast pictures of the new canal accompanied by the theme tune to Game of Thrones. The £6bn project, upgrading the Canal by adding a new waterway, has taken just a year to complete. "The Great Egyptian Dream" - as officials have dubbed it - involved building a 21 mile (35km) bypass along the 120 mile (193km) long canal and deepening it so as to allow ships to travel in different directions simultaneously along that stretch. This is the third time since the Canal was built in 1869 that the waterway has been significantly widened to allow for two-way traffic.

The Authority heading the projects predict that the renovations will double the amount of ships per day crossing the canal, increasing the revenue to £8.4bn (it's currently at £3.5bn) by 2023. The Suez Canal is the fastest link between Asia and Europe and accounts for around 7% of global seaborne trade. It's long been a principle source of state revenue for Egypt. Expectations are high and the project has become a source of national pride. It's Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi's solution to the country's economic woes and the loss in revenue from declining tourism and foreign trade. Mr Sisi has promised Egyptians that this is the answer and called the Canal Egypt's gift to the world. But some question whether the billions it took to renovate the Canal could have been better spent elsewhere. "There isn't anything new to be celebrating. There are more important things for Egyptian people that this money could have been used for," said Mahmoud, 24, walking past Cairo's Tahrir Square.

In reality, whether there is an increase in traffic will depend on global trade and demand rather than just the Canal's capacity, Economic analyst and CEO of the Signet Institute, Angus Blair, told Sky News that the Canal will likely bring in extra revenue and help economic recovery. But he thinks more needs to be done to deal with the growing Egyptian population's needs. "I think it would be good to have more infrastructure spending across the country as well, to get people back to work near where they live, so that people can see changes in their environment - not just far away. "But one thing I would say about the Suez Canal is that we can't really put a price on a change in national sentiment." Indeed the country has been engrossed by the opening of the Canal. All around the country there are billboards and countdowns reminding people of the gravity of the day - it's been made a national holiday, public transport will be free and public gardens open to all. You'd be hard pressed to find an Egyptian unaware of the grand opening. Many Egyptians see the Suez Canal project as the start of good things to come after years of turmoil.

But there is no quick fix to Egypt's economic problems and the fear is even if the extra revenue trickles down, it may well take time. In the meantime, Egypt's deep political and social issues will continue to take a toll on its economy. Top Stories Egypt launches Suez Canal expansion - BBC News BBC News Egypt launches Suez Canal expansion 6 August 2015 Read more about sharing. Close share panel Media captionThe extension to the Suez canal has been proclaimed on billboards in Cairo as "Egypt's miracle and its gift to the world" Egypt has opened a major expansion of the Suez Canal, which deepens the main waterway and provides ships with a 35km (22 mile) channel parallel to it. At the inauguration, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi welcomed foreign leaders aboard a historic yacht as helicopters and fighter jets flew by. The expansion aims to increase the traffic handled by the canal. Egypt's government hopes the revenues will revive the economy - but analysts have questioned the projections. They point out that the volume of world trade has not been growing at the pace needed to deliver the sums Egypt hopes to collect.

Egyptians commenting to the international press and on Twitter appear divided over the project, with many asking if the $8.2bn (£5.3bn) spent on the expansion could have been better deployed on improving infrastructure and public services. Image copyright Reuters Image caption The new waterway is expected to boost traffic - and, Egypt hopes, revenues Image copyright AP Image caption Egyptians celebrated the canal's expansion in Cairo, watched by soldiers The expansion will allow for two-way traffic along part of the route, as well as for larger vessels overall. The construction of the new lane began a year ago , on the orders of Mr Sisi. At the inauguration ceremony in the town of Ismailia, the president appeared in military uniform and sunglasses aboard the El-Mahrousa - the yacht that was the first vessel to pass through the canal when it was built in 1869. The former military leader, elected last year as a civilian, welcomed foreign guests including French President Francois Hollande and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Fighter jets and helicopters flew above the ceremony. On the streets of Cairo, banners described the expanded canal as Egypt's "gift to the world".

Pro-government media have hailed the expansion of the canal as a national triumph, and a turning point after years of instability. Image copyright EPA Image caption President Sisi, seen here at the inauguration, personally ordered the canal's expansion Image copyright AFP Image caption Helicopters fly past a sculpture at the newly opened section of the canal Image copyright Reuters Image caption Many stayed out in Cairo on Wednesday night, with Thursday proclaimed a national holiday However, many analysts doubt if the new venture will deliver the anticipated benefits. Ahmed Kamaly, an economist with the American University in Cairo, told Reuters news agency that the Egyptian projections were "wishful thinking". "There was no viability study done, or known of," he was quoted as saying. He added that the immediate benefits from the expansion were more likely to be political than economic, uniting people "around a national project". Takings from Suez could also be hit by an expansion of the Panama Canal, due to be completed next year, which will compete for traffic along the Asia-North America route.

Suez Canal project projected revenue by 2023 (up from $5.3bn) 72km of new channel and bypasses 97 ships a day by 2023 (up from 49) 11-hour southbound transit (down from 18) 12 months to complete project by Aug 2015 Source: Suez Canal Authority AFP Security was tightened for the inauguration ceremony amid fears of attack by militants allied to Islamic State. The militants, based in the Sinai peninsula, have killed hundreds of people since the military overthrew the Islamist government of president Mohammed Morsi in 2013. The original canal currently handles 7% of global sea-borne trade. The waterway connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, providing the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe. Its nationalisation led to a brief war in 1956, pitting Egypt against the UK, France and Israel.

Panama Canal open to traffic - Aug 15, 1914 - HISTORY.com Panama Canal open to traffic Share this: Panama Canal open to traffic Author Panama Canal open to traffic URL Publisher A+E Networks The American-built waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is inaugurated with the passage of the U.S. vessel Ancon, a cargo and passenger ship. The rush of settlers to California and Oregon in the mid 19th century was the initial impetus of the U.S. desire to build an artificial waterway across Central America. In 1855, the United States completed a railroad across the Isthmus of Panama (then part of Colombia), prompting various parties to propose canal-building plans. Ultimately, Colombia awarded rights to build the canal to Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French entrepreneur who had completed the Suez Canal in 1869. Construction on a sea-level canal began in 1881, but inadequate planning, disease among the workers, and financial problems drove Lesseps’ company into bankruptcy in 1889.

Three years later, Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla, a former chief engineer of the canal works and a French citizen, acquired the assets of the defunct French company. By the turn of the century, sole possession of the isthmian canal became imperative to the United States, which had acquired an overseas empire at the end of the Spanish-American War and sought the ability to move warships and commerce quickly between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In 1902, the U.S. Congress authorized purchase of the French canal company (pending a treaty with Colombia), and allocated funding for the canal’s construction. In 1903, the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty was signed with Columbia, granting the U.S. use of the territory in exchange for financial compensation. The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty, but the Colombian Senate, fearing a loss of sovereignty, refused. In response, President Theodore Roosevelt gave tacit approval to a Panamanian independence movement, which was engineered in large part by Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla and his canal company. On November 3, 1903, a faction of Panamanians issued a declaration of independence from Colombia.

The U.S.-administered railroad removed its trains from the northern terminus of Colón, thus stranding Colombian troops sent to crush the rebellion. Other Colombian forces were discouraged from marching on Panama by the arrival of U.S. warship Nashville. On November 6, the United States recognized the Republic of Panama, and on November 18 the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty was signed with Panama, granting the U.S. exclusive and permanent possession of the Panama Canal Zone. In exchange, Panama received $10 million and an annuity of $250,000 beginning nine years later. The treaty was negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State John Hay and Bunau-Varilla, who had been given plenipotentiary powers to negotiate on behalf of Panama. Almost immediately, the treaty was condemned by many Panamanians as an infringement on their country’s new national sovereignty. In 1906, American engineers decided on the construction of a lock canal, and the next three years were spent developing construction facilities and eradicating tropical diseases in the area. In 1909, construction proper began. In one of the largest construction projects of all time, U.S.

engineers moved nearly 240 million cubic yards of earth and spent close to $400 million in constructing the 40-mile-long canal (or 51 miles long, if the deepened seabed on both ends of the canal is taken into account). On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal was opened to traffic. Panama later pushed to revoke the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, and in 1977 U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos signed a treaty to turn over the canal to Panama by the end of the century. A peaceful transfer occurred at noon on December 31, 1999. Related Videos

Question: In which year was the Suez Canal opened?
Answer: 1869