Egypt's gift to the world: A two-way Suez

Ismailia, Egypt

WITH much pomp and pride, Egypt's military regime launched the New Suez Canal on Thursday in front of dignitaries from around the world in a project seen as more politically significant than economically so.

The expanded canal, dubbed by the authorities as Egypt's "gift to the world", will allow for two-way traffic and reduce ship waiting time in what is already the fastest shipping route between Asia and Europe.

Reminiscent of the construction of the grandiose pyramids in pharaonic times, some 43,000 workers carved a new 35km channel running parallel to the old route, an…