The race for the contract to build the Cairo-Alex freight rail link starts soon: The Transport Ministry is gearing up to launch a tender for the planned Cairo-Alex andria freight railway bypass in 1Q 2024, a ministry source told Enterprise, confirming a report by A l M al. So far, some 11 consortiums of both Egyptian and global companies have qualified for the tender, the source said.

The timeline: The ministry will announce the qualified firms later this year and award the contract in April, sources reportedly told Al Mal. Our source could not confirm the timeline for the awarding of the contract.

Interested candidates: Initially, Petrojet, Arab Contractors, Hassan Allam, Concord, and Orascom Construction all expressed their interest in the USD 740 mn project. However, the Egyptian National Railways opted for a public qualification tender, followed by a tender that’s exclusive to the qualified bidders, Al Mal reported. We were unable to reach representatives of the companies to confirm their interest.

World Bank backing: The World Bank already approved a USD 400 mn loan for the project back in 2022. The remaining costs are expected to be covered through local sources, although the precise amount is still subject to adjustments, according to our source.

Refresher: The bypass will allow freight trains to travel to and from the Port of Alexandria and the newly-constructed Sixth of October dry port via an alternative western route of Greater Cairo that avoids the congested Greater Cairo-Sixth of October rail corridor. The bypass will be able to handle 15 container trains per day by 2030 and up to 50 trains by 2060.The project is supposed to boost the transport and logistics sector as well as help the country move towards a low-carbon railway system.

Tags: