Egypt's Suez Canal revenues fall in September

Toll revenues for Egypt's Suez Canal have fallen in September, dampening hopes that a new parallel waterway " which authorities claim will more than double canal income in the next seven years " will boost the economy in the immediate future.

While the canal's much-hyped extension was one of the mega-projects President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said will help spur an economic turnaround, the two months since its Aug. 6 opening have brought in weaker revenues than the same months last year.

Data released on Monday by canal authorities shows that monthly revenue was $448.8 million in September, down some $13 million from the previous month. The year-to-date toll income was $3.9 billion. That compares to $469.8 million in September of last year, when year-to-date toll income stood at $4.1 billion. August 2015 revenues stood at $462.1 million, compared to $510 million in August 2014.

The government says the $8.5 billion project, funded entirely by Egyptians, will boost the canal's currency in an economy that has been making a gradual recovery from the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.