From his 7th floor office, Ahmed Aly Fadel surveys the Suez Canal, the international waterway that is crucial to Egypt’s economy. In the distance, he points to a small convoy of ships moving up from the south, laden with goods from Asia and heading towards western markets. Up close, a huge container ship sits idle, its anchor dropped off the shores of Ismailia as it waits for the convoy to move through.
As chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, the powerful government entity that has run the canal since its nationalisation in 1956, Mr Fadel has good reason to be watching closely. After several years of record growth, the former navy admiral knows there are likely to be tough times ahead.
