A general view of the Suez Canal from Al Salam "Peace" bridge on the Ismalia desert road before the opening ceremony of the New Suez Canal, in Egypt, August 6, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

It involved 37 km of dry digging, creating what is effectively a "second lane", and widening and deepening another 35 km of the existing canal.

It will cut the waiting period for vessels from 18 hours to 11. By 2023, the number of ships using the canal could increase to 97 per day from 49 now.

Officials hope the new waterway will more than double Suez earnings from $5.3 billion expected at the end of 2015 to $13.2 billion in 2023. The waterway is part of a comprehensive project to develop the area adjacent to the canal into an industrial hub.

"There is a stream of investors who want to invest, because the level of trust in Egypt and its political leadership is very high," Suez Canal Authority Chairman Mahob Mameesh said last week. He expected about one million jobs to be created over the next 15 years.

Fawaz Gerges, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK, called it "a magnificent project" but added that it "does not resolve the structural challenge facing the economy".