Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has reported revenue of $5.3bn in 2017, marking a 5.4 per cent increase compared to the figure reported the previous year.

It is the first time in four years that the SCA reported an increase in Suez ports' revenue.

According to a statement by the authority, Suez ports accommodated 17,550 vessels in 2017 compared to 16,833 vessels in 2016.

Until last year, the SCA's annual revenue has consistently declined, in spite of the completion of the $8.2bn expansion of the waterway in August 2015.

SCA reported revenues of $5.5bn in 2014, $5.2bn in 2015 and $5bn in 2016.

It is understood that the SCA reduced transit rates since October last year for container vessels in the northern and southern Suez ports. It also offered up to 45 per cent discount to large oil tankers originating from the United States heading to the Gulf.

In local currency terms, the Suez port’s revenues jumped almost 90 per cent, from £E49.4bn in 2016 to £E93.8bn in 2017.

The Suez Canal, which is an artificial waterway that connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, has been a vital part of Egypt’s political economy ever since its nationalisation in 1956, providing much-needed foreign exchange revenues.

The waterway is one of Egypt’s core sources of income, providing about 10 per cent of the nation’s hard currency.