Egypt Downplays Israeli Pipeline’s Effect on Suez Canal

File photo of Suez Canal. Anadolu news agency
File photo of Suez Canal. Anadolu news agency
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Egypt Downplays Israeli Pipeline’s Effect on Suez Canal

File photo of Suez Canal. Anadolu news agency
File photo of Suez Canal. Anadolu news agency

Cairo on Tuesday downplayed the impact of the Israeli Ashkelon-Eilat oil pipeline on the revenues and competitiveness of the Egyptian Suez Canal.

A rare official statement by Egypt's state-owned Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said the pipeline, once re-operated, would slightly affect the total flows of trade crossing the Suez Canal.

“It is expected that the impact of the pipeline, once operational, will not exceed 12-16% of the volume of crude oil trade heading north, and not of the total trade traffic crossing the canal,” it said.

The SCA statement noted that the pipeline links the Eilat oil port on the Red Sea coast with the Ashkelon oil port on the Mediterranean coast and that the canal route will remain the shortest and most secure link between East and West since shipping containers passing through the canal can transport larger quantities of goods at a cost lower than any land routes.

The statement said SCA's revenues come from diverse sources, adding the containers bring in 50 percent of the canal's total revenues while crude oil contributes only 6.5 percent.

Dr. Ahmed Kandil, the head of energy studies program at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said the economic benefits of the oil pipeline are “not huge.”

He said political tensions and regional geopolitical dimensions would make it risky for international institutions to think about funding the pipeline.

The Suez Canal is one of Egypt's main sources of national income and foreign currency reserves.



Report: Turkish Airlines Restarts Flights to Beirut

Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 TC-JVV plane takes off in Riga International Airport, Latvia January 17, 2020. (Reuters)
Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 TC-JVV plane takes off in Riga International Airport, Latvia January 17, 2020. (Reuters)
TT

Report: Turkish Airlines Restarts Flights to Beirut

Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 TC-JVV plane takes off in Riga International Airport, Latvia January 17, 2020. (Reuters)
Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 TC-JVV plane takes off in Riga International Airport, Latvia January 17, 2020. (Reuters)

Turkish Airlines has resumed flights from Istanbul to Beirut after a more than two-month suspension prompted by conflict in the Middle East, Türkiye's state-owned Anadolu news agency reported on Tuesday.

The airline, Türkiye's flag carrier, suspended flights to Beirut on Sept. 21 amid the conflict between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group. The two sides agreed a ceasefire last week, though both accuse the other of violations.

Anadolu said the airline planned one flight per day in the first phase, rising to two daily flights on Friday. It said there would then be four daily flights from Dec. 11 onwards.

Turkish Airlines did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the Anadolu report and its details, but its website showed Istanbul-Beirut flights on sale.