The Egyptian government has raised the 60 billion Egyptian pounds (6.6 billion euros) it needs to expand the Suez Canal in just eight days, mostly locally. <br /><br />Egypt’s central bank governor said the sale of investment certificates is now closed. The five-year investment certificates have a 12 percent interest rate and will pay quarterly dividends. <br /><br />That money will be used to create a second waterway running alongside the original canal to increase traffic on the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia.<br /><br />An international industrial and logistics hub is also to be build to attract more ships and generate income. It will cost the equivalent of around 160 billion euros. <br /><br />Canal revenues are a vital source of hard currency for the country, which has suffered a slump in tourism and foreign investment since the 2011 uprising that toppled long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak.<br /><br />Revenues from Egypt’s Suez Canal reached $508 million (392.4 million euros) in August, the highest monthly level in history, Suez Canal Authority Chairman Mohab Mamish said in early September.<br /><br />The official Mena news agency quoted Mamish as saying that 2014 was set to be a record year for revenues from the waterway.
