Historic Suez Canal completes 150 years

Since the opening of the Suez canal in 1869, 1.3 million ships have gone through it with a cargo of 28.6 billion tons, and revenues of 135.9 billion dollars.

Suez Canal: Connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, the historic Suez Canal has marked 150 years since it first opened. More than a million ships have passed through the famous waterway since November 1869.

On 17 November 1869, the Suez Canal opened in Egypt. Since then, the waterway has been of key strategic importance.

When Egypt's leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser, nationalised the canal in 1956, Britain, France and Israel joined forces to take control of it.

The British, French and Israeli governments eventually withdrew their troops after political pressure, with Nasser emerging as the winner in the standoff.

The canal has been expanded on a number of occasions, most recently in 2015, through a multi-billion-dollar project that the government touted as a historic achievement.

150 years on from its first opening, the Suez Canal Authority celebrated everything the waterway has brought.

In a ceremony attended by foreign officials such as the French ambassador, the chairman of the Authority Osama Rabie shared its achievements.

"Maritime statistics during the fiscal year 2018/2019 have recorded the transit of about 19,000 ships with a cargo of one billion and two hundred million tons, and revenues of $6 billion, all of which contribute to the national economy," Osama said.

"1.3 million ships is the number of vessels that have gone through the canal since its inception till now, with a cargo of 28.6 billion tons, and revenues of 135.9 billion dollars. It represents the first choice of the trade transit from the east to west and vice versa," he added.