Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi rode into the new stretch of the Suez Canal on a wave of nationalist pomp, his personality cult on full display, backed by a roster of Egypt’s international friends.
The French Prime Minister François Hollande was named “guest of honour” at the ceremony in the port town of Ismailia, following the recent sale by the French of three Rafale fighter jets to the Sisi administration. Here he took prime position next to Mr Sisi himself, who had arrived, decked in full military garb, sailing down the new channel alongside a naval ship called Tahya Masr, or Long Live Egypt.
Also in attendance was the British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, who had earlier praised the “modern wonder” of the project, as well as Egypt’s “vision of a more prosperous, more democratic society”, in an editorial for the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram.
A general view of the Suez Canal from Al Salam "Peace" bridge (Reuters)
The Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, King Abdullah of Jordan, the Emir of Kuwait and North Korea’s parliamentary speaker, Kim Yong-nam, were also there to enjoy the parades and the F-16 fighter-jet flypasts in a ceremony that had an original reported cost of more than £19m.
“Egyptians have made a huge effort so as to give the world this gift for development, construction and civilisation,” Mr Sisi said at the ceremony. Egyptians, he added, “showed their ability to efficiently make history and leap to the future for the prosperity of humanity”. In Cairo, the celebrations were equally bombastic. Enjoying the national holiday declared for the occasion, crowds gathered in central Tahrir Square in the blazing afternoon sun to wave flags, honk horns and wave at passing vans full of riot police, their faces covered by black masks.
Read more: Second Suez Canal opens - but doubts linger over security
The new channel, designed to increase profits by allowing parallel shipping traffic, was financed with £5bn in public funds, raised with investment certificates paid into the Long Live Egypt Fund. Citizens are due to receive 12 per cent annual interest, with a final payment in four years.
Fatima Mahmoud Suleiman, 54, kissed a picture of Mr Sisi hung around her neck on a lanyard. She told The Independent she had bought £250 worth of investment certificates during a buying frenzy that saw the certificates sell out in eight days last year.
“I don’t care if I get my money back. I donated my money for Egypt,” she said. “But I believe Sisi, I take his word seriously. Whatever he promises, he will fulfil.”
An Egyptian man embraces a man dressed as a pink bunny as they celebrate the opening of the new addition to the Suez Canal (EPA)
Yasser Amin, 35, said he had bought £750 worth of investment certificates, in part because he believes the project will create jobs for unemployed youth.
“I’m here to celebrate the new sense of promise that Sisi gave to the Egyptian people,” he said as he stood by the side of the square trying to cool off in the midday heat. “He promised security, and an end to terrorism. Sisi promised the canal would be built within a year, and it happened.”
The speed of the canal’s construction – it was completed in just one year rather than three, on Mr Sisi’s orders – has taken many observers of Egyptian bureaucracy by surprise.
Egyptians celebrate the opening of the new addition to the Suez Canal, in Tahrir Square, downtown Cairo, Egypt (EPA)
But the security and financial success of the canal are far from certain. The Egyptian government has promised that the canal’s annual revenue will rise from £3.2bn to £8.5bn by 2023, but is yet to provide evidence as to how parallel traffic will cause a spike in profits.
