Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie said the canal achieved a 2 % increase in its revenues to USD 1.907 bn during the first four months of 2020, state-run Ahram Online news website reports.

Rabie said the canal generated USD 1.869 bn worth of revenues in the corresponding period of 2019.

He added, “1,731 vessels passed through the waterway in both directions in April 2020, up from 1,580 in the same period last year,” according to Ahram Online.

Overall net tonnage rose 3.6% to 101.8 million tons in April 2020, up from 98.3 million tons in April 2019.

Egypt has confirmed that traffic through this shipping route has not been affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the past months and shipping is ongoing at normal rates.

Last August, Egypt’s cabinet ratified a concession agreement to design, construct, manage, operate, and maintain a multi-purpose terminal at East Port Said Port, located east of the Suez Canal’s northern entrance.