War boost for Suez Canal

War provided an unexpected lift to the canal authority's earnings

Help has come from an unlikely quarter for Egypt's economy, hit hard by the US-led war on Iraq.

The Suez Canal Authority has seen revenue rise sharply thanks to the large number of US and British warships passing through the waterway en route to the Gulf, the authority's chairman has been reported as saying.

The strategic waterway, linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, is one of Egypt's main sources of foreign currency income.

The canal's revenue in the first five months of the year reached $1.04bn (£621m), up almost 40% from $752m in the same period of 2002, Lieutenant General Ahmed Ali Fadel was reported by the AP news agency as saying.

He attributed this to the "continuous passage of supply ships to the American and British troops in Iraq".

Tourism drop

The war fillip for the canal authority came despite General Fadel's prediction last year that war on Iraq would cause a revenue slump.

Tourism, also one of Egypt's biggest foreign currency earners, is continuing its recent decline.

Official figures released on Thursday showed the country received 356,000 visitors in March, down from 427,000 in February and 459,000 in March 2002.