<Tr> <Th> Start point </Th> <Td> Port Said </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> End point </Th> <Td> Port Tewfik, Suez </Td> </Tr> <P> The Suez Canal (Arabic: قناة السويس ‎ qanāt as - suwēs) is an artificial sea - level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez . Constructed by the Suez Canal Company between 1859 and 1869, it was officially opened on 17 November 1869 . The canal offers watercraft a shorter journey between the North Atlantic and northern Indian Oceans via the Mediterranean and Red seas by avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans, in turn reducing the journey by approximately 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi). It extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of Suez . Its length is 193.30 km (120.11 mi), including its northern and southern access channels . In 2012, 17,225 vessels traversed the canal (average 47 per day). </P> <P> The original canal was a single - lane waterway with passing locations in the Ballah Bypass and the Great Bitter Lake . It contains no locks system, with seawater flowing freely through it . In general, the canal north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and south in summer . South of the lakes, the current changes with the tide at Suez . </P>

When was the suez canal built and by whom
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