Rabie’s comments echo yesterday’s messages from Egyptian House of Representatives Speaker Hanafi Gebaly and the Cabinet
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) denied claims that the to-be-established Suez Canal Authority Fund would act as a backdoor for selling the canal to foreign investors.
The Suez Canal welcomes foreign investment but foreigners would have no control over the waterway or over a proposed fund that would help manage its resources, explained Osama Rabie, head of the SCA.
Rabie’s comments echo yesterday’s messages from Egyptian House of Representatives Speaker Hanafi Gebaly and the Cabinet, both statements refuted the claims that have been circulating online.
“The aim of establishing a fund owned by the Canal Authority is to increase the authority’s ability to contribute to the sustainable economic development of the Canal Authority facility and develop it through optimal utilization of its funds in accordance with the best international standards and rules to maximize its value,” the Cabinet’s statement wrote.
It emphasized that the fund will contribute to enabling the authority to confront crises and emergencies that occur as a result of any exceptional circumstances or bad economic conditions, noting that all the fund’s accounts are subject to the supervision of the Central Auditing Organization.
Triggered by the legal amendments for the fund discussed in parliament earlier this week, several posts and stories were published online that speculated the fund would be a vehicle for foreign investors to buy stakes in the canal.
Already years in the making, the fund was designed to guard the canal’s resources for reinvestment, as well as to help face unexpected challenges or crises, Rabie explained in a press conference today.
The SCA head stressed that the canal and its management will remain wholly owned by the Egyptian state and subject to its sovereignty, and the entire staff of the Canal Authority, including employees, technicians, and administrators will remain Egyptian citizens.
