At a press conference, Suez Canal Authority President Osama Spring revealed that work was under way to increase the length of the dual section of the waterway from 72 to 82 kilometres.

The Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority explained that it would be expensive to expand the entire navigation corridor into a dual track.

The aim of the work was to enhance the safety of navigation, noting that the time period for ships to pass through the Suez Canal would remain at 11 hours.

Global shipping traffic was hampered last year when one of the world's largest container ships drifted in the southern sector of the 190-kilometre canal for about a week.

The Suez Canal saw 1774 ships crossing from both directions during January 2022, compared to 1594 ships crossing during January last year, for a total net tonnage of 106.1 million tons, compared to 104.2 million tons during January last year.

CBS revenue for January 2022 was about $544.7 million, compared to $495.7 million during the same month last year, a difference of $49 million, an increase of 9.9 percent.

Navigational reports during January 2022 observed a significant increase in transit rates for various types of ships compared to the same month last year, with casting ships up 25.1 percent, trans-Channel container ships up 11.5 percent, and motor carrier ships up 27 percent.