After 153 years of its operation, the Suez Canal reached its highest ever revenues at a value of 7 billion dollars.

This 20.7% increase in revenues, as compared to the fiscal year 2020/2021, is due to the increase in the number of tonnages and ships passing through the canal.

The Suez Canal has reached the highest value of monthly net tonnage, at a value of 114.5 million tons which is a 3.9% rise when compared to April 2021, according to the Head of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie.

Suez Canal’s boom has been on a steady rise for a period of time now, given that its annual revenues jumped by almost $1b, jumping from $5.6b in 2020 to $6.3b in 2022, despite current economic crises in regards to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

These record-breaking numbers also certainly come as a surprise, since the infamous Evergreen incident that blocked the Suez Canal back in July 2021 has caused the Egyptian canal authorities to lose $95m, according to Financial Times.

However, it seems that these continuous global crises continue to prove to the world the important role the canal plays in the global supply chain, since the vessels passing through it account for 12% of global trade, making it yet another important source of foreign currency for Egypt.

The 193km canal has served as a major waterway for global trade since its opening in 1869, given that its geographical position makes it the easiest route to take for trading activities between South Asia and Europe, unlike the Cape of Good Hope which forces the cargo ships to navigate around Africa, adding an extra 9,000km of travelling in the process.

The authorities also recently announced that the canal’s traffic, which is currently at 50 ships per day, is expected to double by 2023 due to introduction of dual-lane ship circulation.

Read more: Suez Canal revenues rise 15.1% to $545.5m in February