New Suez Canal to be formally launched next month

Egypt’s new Suez Canal will be formally inaugurated on August 6, reports Reuters news agency.

The first cargo ships passed through the new canal on Saturday in a test-run before it opens next month, 11 months after the army began constructing the US$8-billion canal alongside the existing 145-year-old Suez Canal.

Three container ships crossed the new waterway, state news agency MENA reported. One was an American ship heading to Egypt's Port Said from Saudi Arabia, another was a Danish ship sailing to the United States from Singapore, and a Bahraini ship going to Italy from Saudi Arabia.