The construction of a side channel near Egypt's Suez Canal will allow direct access to East Port Said for 24 hours a day, one of the project's financiers has told Reuters. 

Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) managing director Klaus Holm Laursen told the agency the new waterway would divert traffic from the canal's entrance.

"The waterway will benefit the entire east port, not just SCCT. You can't have a seaport without having any ships; it's like having an airport without a runway," Laursen was quoted as saying.

The story reported SCCT, which is majority owned by the Maersk Group's APM Terminals, would be paying US$15 million out of an expected US$60 million.

A Suez Canal Authority source told Reuters the new channel would be 9.5 km (6 miles) long, 18.5 metres deep, and 250 metres wide, taking about seven months to build following the opening of the new Suez Canal next month.

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