Sisi appoints new Suez Canal chief

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has appointed Osama Rabie, a senior naval officer, as chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, to succeed Mohab Mamish.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab & agencies

18 August, 2019

The Suez Canal is an important source of revenue for the Egyptian state [Getty]

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has appointed Lieutenant General Osama Rabie as chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement on Saturday.

Rabie, an officer in the navy, was vice-chairman of the Canal Authority under its previous chief, Mohab Mamish, who will become an adviser to the president on seaports.

Mamish previously oversaw the digging of a new artificial waterway near the Suez Canal. It was opened in 2015.

Sisi also appointed engineer Yahia Zaki as head of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, a mega-project launched in 2015 to be an international hub for global manufacturers along the canal.

The Suez Canal is the most direct shipping route between Europe and Asia and one of the Egyptian government´s main sources of foreign currency.

In the 2018-2019 financial year, it made $5.9 billion for the Egyptian state.