An Egyptian military spokesman said on Thursday that 43 companies have started working on a new $4 billion project to expand the Suez Canal by adding a second channel.

The project, announced earlier in August, aims to create new 72 kilometre-long waterway alongside the Suez Canal.

Brigadier General Mohamed Samir said on his official Facebook page that 13.6 million cubic metres have so far been dug as part of the construction of the new channel.

48 companies have been assigned to work on implementing the project; five companies are waiting to start work until necessary equipment arrives, according to Samir.

On Tuesday, Egyptian authorities announced they had chosen a consortium including Dar Al-Handasah Shair and Partners and its Egyptian partner to create the master plan for the Suez Canal area development project, a related project that will create an industrial hub in the vicinity of the canal, along with a centre for supplies and logistics.