Well, the real difficulty is to figure out what barrkel meant by 'public value'. Either the current scheme contributes less to public value than the previous p

Well, the real difficulty is to figure out what barrkel meant by 'public value'. Either the current scheme contributes less to public value than the previous privatized scheme, or it doesn't. Is additional extortion by local crews better for public value than higher fees by foreign owners? Figuring that out requires making a political judgement, rather than leaving the discussion on the abstract concept of 'pure rent extraction'. (As the canal is artificial, and Egypt does maintain and develop the canal, and creates new wealth by providing an alternative transportation connection, I really don't see how it is 'pure'.)