埃及称扩建后苏伊士运河将于八月开放

    Egyptian officials are making plans to open a newly-expanded Suez Canal on August 6th. Officials say the "new" canal will be more than double the waterway's earnings over the next 10 years. But some experts say the project alone will not be able to turn around Egypt's economy.
    埃及官员正计划8月6日开放新扩建的苏伊士运河。有关官员表示,新运河未来十年的水道收益将超过一倍。但一些专家表示,光是该项目无法扭转埃及经济。

    Admiral Mohab Mohamed Hussien Mameesh heads the Suez Canal Authority.
    海军上将莫哈布·马米什(Mohab Mohamed Hussien Mameesh)执掌苏伊士运河管理局。

    He says the project will cut in half the amount of time it takes to travel through the Suez Canal. He says this time savings will lower costs for shippers.
    他说,该项目将使苏伊士运河的通行时间缩短一半。节省时间将会降低货主成本。

    The expansion of the current canal means two ships will be able to sail by each other. Now, there is only enough room for one ship to pass through the waterway.
    运河扩建后意味着两艘船可以并行。现在的空间只能单艘船通行该水道。

    The Suez Canal connects Europe and Asia. The canal earned $5.5 billion in income for Egypt last year.
    苏伊士运河连接着欧洲和亚洲。去年该运河为埃及赚得55亿美元收入。

    Admiral Mameesh says less than 10 years from now, the expanded canal will earn $13 billion a year.
    马米什上将说,从现在开始的十年内,扩建后运河每年将能赚到130亿美元。

    Professor Andrew Lambert teaches naval history at King's College in London. He says the success of the canal will depend largely on the health of the world's shipping industry. He says that is something Egypt cannot control. And he says even if the expanded canal is successful, he does not think it will improve the lives of average Egyptians. People in Egypt are facing rising poverty rates and prices. The economy is slowly recovering from recent financial and political unrest.
    安德鲁·兰伯特(Andrew Lambert)教授在伦敦国王学院任教。他说,运河的成功将在很大程度上依赖全球航运业的健康状况。他说这是埃及无法控制的。他还表示,即使扩建后运河是成功的,他也不认为它能改善普通埃及人的生活。埃及人正面临贫困率上升和物价上涨。该国经济正在从近年的金融和政治动荡中缓慢恢复。

    "Egypt is a large, complex country with a very big population. It is highly unlikely it is going to be able to live off the kinds of incomes it will get -- even from two canals. The costs of governing Egypt are very large. It has major debt problems."
    “埃及是一个庞大复杂而且人口众多的国家,它不大可能依靠这些收入为生,哪怕有两条运河的收入。治理埃及的费用非常巨大,该国具有严重的债务问题。”

    But officials say the economy is growing. And they say the canal is just one project that will both increase foreign investment in Egypt and create income for the country.
    但是有关官员表示,埃及经济正在增长。他们还说,运河只是一个能增加外国在埃及投资以及为该国创收的项目。

    I'm Jim Tedder.
    我是吉姆·特德。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利,未经授权请勿转载,违者必究!)