Ismailia officials placed two statues in the governorate as part of celebrations marking the opening of the new Suez Canal, scheduled for Thursday.

The first statue, called “liberty”, depicts a woman rolling her arms above her head, while looking at the sky with dignity and pride.

The second, named “guard of history”, shows a worker to represent the hard work Egyptian workers have done in digging the new canal.

On 5 August 2014, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi launched the new waterway project, which is being dug alongside the Suez Canal. It is meant to add an extra lane to the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important thoroughfares for trade, in an attempt to increase the number of ships using it each day.

The Suez Canal, which allows ships to travel from Europe to Asia without navigating around Africa, only provides for one-way traffic, with occasional room for ships to pass each other. The new lane will allow ships to travel in both directions.

The new canal will be opened on August 6.