A package of projects announced by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will represent a major leap in the Suez Canal Development Axis, an economic expert said.

In statements to Sky News Arabia, Dr Farouk Abdel Khalek said that the infrastructure projects need long period and needs spending to result in a fruitful outcome.

The industrial and agricultural projects quickly reflected in the national economy, he noted.

He praised a keynote speech by President Sisi during the inauguration of the New Suez Canal.

The new 72-kilometer waterway, built in less than a year at a cost of 60 billion EGP, runs part of the way alongside the existing canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

The legendary project was financed by investment certificates sold to Egyptians.