Egypt raises $8.5B for Suez Canal expansion

The head of Egypt's Central Bank said on Monday that it has raised $8.5 billion for the construction of an expansion of the Suez Canal by selling investment certificates.

Hisham Ramez told Al-Hayat TV that the bank secured the funds in just eight days by selling non-tradable certificates with a maturity of five years at 12 percent interest to Egyptian nationals.

He said that by Monday the bank had collected 61 billion Egyptian pounds ($8.5 billion).

Egypt is the gatekeeper of the canal, one of the world's busiest water corridors and the strategic link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. It is one of Egypt's main sources of income, generating annual revenues of $5 billion.