Egypt Plans Stamp for Opening of "New Suez Canal," Apparently Forgetting that Earlier Stamp

Egypt has announced plans to issue a commemorative stamp to honor the opening of the "New Suez Canal" project, expected August 6. Artists are competing for the design.

Apparently they are forgetting, or have sent down the memory hole, the fact that they already issued one, as I noted here last year:

The Suez Canal is a sea level canal. It does not have locks. The lock shown is in Panama.

The "New Suez Canal" project, though much hyped and promised to be complete in a single year, is apparently on schedule. The catch is, it is not a new Suez Canal. It is a new shipping channel along part of the existing Canal, as well as new tunnels under the Canal and works on either side. The current canal runs 164 kilometers. The new  channel is 72 km, of which only 35 km is new dry-land digging; other areas are being deepened and widened, essentially creating a new channel mostly between Lake Timsah and Ismailia.. This graphic may help:

Large bracket on right, The Suez Canal. Small line at left, the "New Suez Canal."

The graphic is a bit unfair as it doesn't include areas being dredged and expanded or other improvements.