CAIRO, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Suez Canal posted a record-high annual revenue of 9.4 billion U.S. dollars in the fiscal year 2022-2023, up from 7 billion U.S. dollars a year earlier, the Suez Canal Authority's (SCA) chairman Osama Rabie said on Wednesday.
"For the first time in the canal's history, the authority has achieved revenues of about 9.4 billion U.S. dollars with a 35 percent increase," Rabie told reporters at a press conference.
He added 25,887 ships carrying 1.5 billion tons of cargo passed the navigation course in the FY 2022-2023, the highest record in the SCA's history.
The Ukrainian-Russian conflict and the SCA's ongoing development and logistics projects were behind the increase in revenues, he explained.
He ruled out privatization of any asset of the Suez Canal, saying it is owned by the Egyptian people.
However, he added that the SCA is preparing to offer a 20 percent stake in Canal Rope, a company affiliated with the SCA, on the Egyptian Exchange as part of the government IPO program.
The authority is studying the establishment of a vessel factory, and two factories for recycling ship waste, Rabie added.
The fiscal year in Egypt ends on June 30.
The Suez Canal is one of Egypt's main sources of national income and foreign currency reserves. About 12 percent of the world trade volume passes through the man-made waterway, which is considered the most important and fastest navigation passage connecting Africa, Asia, and Europe by bridging the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
