摘要：For more than a century, the Suez Canal Company’s concession in
Egypt was a French preserve, reflecting the role of the concession
system there. Supported by favorable legislation, concession was
the most widespread European business practice in Egypt. The
system provided a way for Egypt to acquire modern
infrastructures; the European contribution was a necessity,
especially for digging the canal. The effect of the Suez Company is
indisputable—the desert of the Suez isthmus was turned into a
true economic area with ports, cities, and a labor force, and the
region was progressively linked to the rest of the country via a
road network. At the same time, however, the concession system
denied the country any benefit from the infrastructure it created:
the canal had to serve the financial and strategic interests of the
company, not those of the local economy. The Suez Company thus
embodies all the contradictions of the concession system,
providing the country with a modern infrastructure while
hindering the development of a national economy.
