The head of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), Osama Rabi, said on Thursday that the strategic sea passage was “not for sale”, after concerns were expressed in Egypt about the bill, AFP reported.

The Suez Canal, through which about 10% of the world’s maritime trade is carried out and which is one of the first sources of foreign currency for Cairo, is a true national symbol.

On Tuesday, the Egyptian parliament approved in principle a draft law on the creation of the Suez Canal Fund, which will be able to “carry out various economic activities, such as the creation of investment companies and the purchase, sale, lease and issuance of bonds.”

That’s enough to alarm public opinion, which fears Egypt’s sovereignty over the canal will be called into question while the country is strangled by $150 billion in foreign debt and has already devalued its currency by 57% since March.

Osama Rabi tried to reassure him on Thursday at a press conference in Ismailia (northeast), saying that Suez cannot be “sold, leased or mortgaged”, adding that the aim is to allow investment in “huge projects”.

But for Egyptian economist Hani Toufik, the project aims to “replace public debt by placing canal revenues as a guarantee.”

These claims were denied by the president of the SCA, who said the aim was to attract foreign investment.

He also emphasized the state’s commitment to the canal, recalling in particular the 1956 nationalization episode by then-President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

But the former head of the SCA, Mohab Mamish, believes that the bill “opens the door to unprecedented changes (…) that allow the presence of foreigners in the management of the channel.”

Foreign investors could “change a system that has existed for years and brought record profits,” he told local media.

In July, the Suez Canal announced record profits of $7 billion.

The bill comes after Egypt appealed for help to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which approved a 46-month loan of $3 billion in mid-December.

This financial support was provided in exchange for a program aimed at “supporting macroeconomic stability” by “paving the way for sustainable, inclusive and private-sector-led growth”.

The measures are also supposed to reduce public debt “while increasing social spending.”