{"id":565919,"date":"2021-05-17T14:01:37","date_gmt":"2021-05-17T14:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/05\/17\/big-plans-for-railway-manufacturing-in-the-sczone\/"},"modified":"2021-05-17T14:01:37","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T14:01:37","slug":"big-plans-for-railway-manufacturing-in-the-sczone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/05\/17\/big-plans-for-railway-manufacturing-in-the-sczone\/","title":{"rendered":"Big plans for railway manufacturing in the SCZone"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Four foreign companies have bid to partner on a facility that will produce rail <\/strong>cars<\/strong> in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone)<\/strong>, Al Mal<\/a> reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. Canada\u2019s Bombardier, Russia\u2019s Transmashholding, Germany\u2019s Siemens, and South Korea\u2019s Hyundai Rotem are all in the running to take part in the planned assembly line, which will manufacture different types of rolling stock for the metro, the rail network, and the USD 4.5 bn monorail that is currently under construction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Who else is involved?<\/strong> The National Egyptian Company for Railroad Industries<\/a> (NERIC), which was set up last year<\/a> by the SCZone and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE), will be responsible for operating and managing the project, while the National Authority for Tunnels, the SFE, the SCZone will also be involved, the sources said.<\/p>\n

What are the companies bidding for?<\/strong> The foreign partner will initially share technical expertise with NERIC but will only be on board for a set period of time, the length of which still hasn\u2019t been decided, they told the newspaper. The SCZone, meanwhile, will claim a stake in the project for the land that will house the facility.<\/p>\n

When can we expect to hear more? We still don\u2019t know for sure. <\/strong>The ministry set up a working group to study financial offers submitted by each of the four foreign railway manufacturers, and is due to hand the offers over to cabinet for a review once it wraps up, according to the sources.<\/p>\n

Hyundai Rotem is already involved in Egypt\u2019s efforts to localize rail manufacturing<\/strong>, signing an MoU last month<\/a> that will see it transfer technology and set up plants that will produce railcars, signaling systems, and control and driving equipment.<\/p>\n

The long-term plan: <\/strong>The government aims to get the railway system to rely primarily on locally-manufactured components, with a target to reach a minimum of 25% in two years, 50% in four, and 75% at the end of a six-year period. NERIC plans to invest up to USD 10 bn to push the plan forward.<\/p>\n

CATCH UP QUICK- <\/strong><\/p>\n