海角大神

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi鈥檚 promise of a second Suez Canal has lit the touchpaper of Egyptian nationalism. Across the country, citizens jostle for position in public banks, waiting their turn to invest in the $8.4 billion project they hope will restore Egypt to greatness.

In just eight days, citizens across the cash-strapped nation have coughed up the full sum, trading their savings for investment certificates.

President Sisi鈥檚 plan involves widening and deepening the original channel, itself a modern symbol of national pride; adding a 45-mile long additional lane to accommodate two-way traffic; and building tunnels underneath to speed travel to the Sinai peninsula.

Such an expensive project at a time when Egyptians are experiencing rising poverty and rolling power blackouts may seem strange. But the former head of the armed forces has his reasons.

In 1956, then-President Gamal Abdel Nasser cemented his status as a national hero by snatching the canal from British hands and placing it under Egyptian state ownership. Built with French and Egyptian capital, the canal opened in 1869, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.聽Now Sisi, who was elected in June on promises to extinguish the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and return Egypt to its former status as a regional leader, is looking for a Nasserist moment of his own. 聽

But away from the nationalistic fanfare, the dream has a darker side: Lives and livelihoods are quite literally being ripped up to achieve it, and analysts are expressing concerns over the project鈥檚 timetable, expected profitability, and overall transparency.

Demolitions underway

Slumped under a mango tree near the village of Atbal, a few hundred yards east of the original canal, Haj Sami Tawfik, a farmer, is one of around 2,000 villagers displaced since the start of the project. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 describe how it feels to see my trees ripped out of the ground,鈥� he says. 鈥淲here are we supposed to go?鈥�

The area鈥檚 now-homeless residents say they received only a day鈥檚 warning before hundreds of khaki-clad soldiers arrived. 鈥淭hey had come to demolish everything,鈥� says Mr. Tawfik. 鈥淪ome people managed to grab their belongings, but many couldn鈥檛.鈥�

鈥淚 don't know anything else but farming,鈥� his brother, Rabie adds later. 鈥淚 came here as a young farmer 鈥� that鈥檚 all I can be.鈥� The 58-year old is staying temporarily in the city of Suez, along with the families of a dozen laborers.

A lawyer for the displaced families, Shereen al-Haddad, believes military contractors in charge of the project were not warned that the construction zone was an inhabited area. She says 10 other villages 鈥� apparently home to 50,000 people 鈥� are also under threat.

In bank queues across Egypt, ordinary investors know little of these goings-on.聽鈥淚 didn't hear about any displacements. Even if this is true, I鈥檓 sure the army has something in mind that hasn鈥檛 been revealed yet,鈥� says Moataz al-Ashmawy, a masters student at Mansoura University, some 90 miles north of Cairo.

Trust and tax-free returns

Public trust in Egypt's army rose after it ousted Mohamed Morsi, an unpopular Islamist president, last year. That the institution is overseeing the Suez Canal project underscores the military's growing role in Egypt's economy since Mr. Morsi's ouster, as well as the waterway鈥檚 perceived importance to national security

鈥淚鈥檓 getting married, and I believe this is a very good investment for the future of my family,鈥� says Mr. Ashmany, who is spending 2,000 Egyptian pounds ($280), most of his monthly salary, on investment certificates.

Like many others, he sees investment as a national duty. He's also attracted by the bond's 12 percent tax-free return that matures in five years and is guaranteed by the government. The governor of Egypt鈥檚 Central Bank and other finance officials have talked up the project's importance, boosting public confidence.聽

Economists and maritime analysts say it makes sense to widen the original channel so that Egypt can keep pace with other trade hubs,聽especially the Panama Canal. But some caution that the long-term financial benefits aren't a given.聽

If all goes to plan, Egypt would聽reap the benefits of the canal鈥檚 expansion within the decade as more ships pass through. But according to Omar El-Shenety, managing director of the Dubai-based Multiples Investment Group, there is growing skepticism over whether a second channel can boost revenue in the way Egypt's authorities have predicted.

"Demand is based聽mainly聽on global trade聽growth, not聽only聽on the type of canal you have,鈥� he says. He also points out that the decision to build six additional tunnels 鈥� there is currently only one 鈥� could be unnecessarily time consuming for construction companies that have been told to finish the project within a year.聽

The lack of transparency surrounding the project is also a concern. 鈥淲ith a mega-project like this, one would expect a聽detailed level聽of information to be made public, but that hasn鈥檛 happened,聽which hints to the insufficiency of solid and comprehensive studies for the project,鈥� says Mr.聽Shenety.

Extended payback?

Worryingly, irrigation experts say the second channel is being built too close to the original canal, and the new building site has begun to fill with groundwater.聽However, many economists say the government's guarantees minimize the risk to investors, with a worst-case scenario of an extended repayment period.聽

On the banks of the canal, displaced residents are quick to stress that they do not oppose the construction project itself, possibly mindful that insulting Egypt's popular army could bring repercussions.聽

鈥淚've always been a patriot and I'd like to stay this way,鈥� says Rabie Tawfik, who served in the Egyptian army during the 1970s. 鈥淲e aren't against the project, we just want justice.鈥�

And back in the living rooms of Egypt鈥檚 citizen investors, positivity is the only message in town. 鈥淗istory has witnessed the Egyptian鈥檚 ability to create miracles,鈥� proclaims one advert over an inspirational theme tune. 鈥淭he Suez Canal is one of those miracles 鈥� 聽a contribution to human life.鈥�

Additional reporting contributed by Mohamed Ezz.