Egypt’s railway renovation project attracts interest: Egypt’s Railway Authority has reportedly received offers from four international and local consortiums for a USD 285 mn Robeiky-Tenth of Ramadan-Belbeis freight and passenger railway revamp project, Asharq Business reports, citing three government sources.

REMEMBER- The project is set to link the 10th of Ramadan Dry Port to Egypt's main rail network and seaports, bypassing the Cairo railway junction, and is part of Egypt’s budding initiative to plug investments into seven key logistics corridors over the next three years. The move looks to streamline movements between the nation’s logistics channels by improving links between Egypt’s dry ports and sea ports.

What we know: The bidders reportedly include a consortium of France’s Alstom, Egypt’s Concrete Plus, and Rowad Modern Engineering; a consortium of CBS Group subsidiary GTS and Orascom Construction; and one including Hitachi, Italy’s Mermec and Salchef, and Egypt’s Hazeq ; and a solo offer from Dhaka Bangladesh Group.

The breakdown: The project costs are reportedly slated to be divided into two tranches, with the first worth USD 220 mn to be distributed to the international companies working on the project. The first tranche will be financed by soft external loans from the French Development Agency and the European Bank for Reconstruction, the news outlet quoted a source as saying. The second tranche, just over EGP 3 bn, will be provided by the authority and distributed to a local tenderer, on the condition that the project is concluded within a three-year-period from the inking of the contract. The project received a EUR 40 mn loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development back in 2022.

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