The Transport Ministry is on the lookout for someone to fund the USD 500 mn venture to manufacture local components for its electric rail line project which will link Salam City with Tenth of Ramadan and the new administrative capital, Minister Hisham Arafat said on Saturday, Al Borsa reports. The ministry will sign a USD 700 mn loan agreement carrying a 2% interest rate with the Export–Import Bank of China once it secures financing for the domestic components needed for the c. USD 1.2 bn rail line, according to Arafat. The Chinese funds will be used for the purchase of new locomotives and control systems, he said. The state will provide the remaining USD 500 mn to finance the project's’ infrastructure and civil engineering works that are being implemented by a consortium of Egyptian construction firms, including Petrojet, Arab Contractors, and Orascom Construction, alongside Chinese partner AVIC. The project is expected to be completed within 24 months of breaking ground.

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