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EUR 540 mn Cairo-Alexandria freight railway awarded: The Egyptian government has awarded the EUR 540 mn Cairo-Alexandria freight railway bypass to a consortium of French and local firms, a government source told EnterpriseAM. The move advances one of seven logistics corridors the government is looking to develop in the years to come — part of a major plan to boost freight capacity from 8 mn tons a year to 13 mn tons a year by 2030.
The details: The project will be implemented in three phases — kicking off halfway through 2026 and slated for completion in 2030. When the project was first announced a few years back, it was said that it would be able to handle 15 container trains per day by 2030 and up to 50 trains by 2060.
Who’s involved? The alliance features French rolling stock company Alstom, Egyptian engineering firm Concrete Plus, and Elsewedy Electric subsidiary Rowad Modern Engineering, sources told Asharq Business. The consortium will be responsible for the design, supply, and operations of the project’s mechanical systems, signals, and central control systems.
There was a lot of competition for the project, with five international firms reportedlyqualifying for the project back in 2023.
And who’s paying? The project will be fully funded by the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, our source said.
It’s been a long time coming: The project has been on our radar since 2022, after the World Bank approved a USD 400 mn financing agreement to boost the performance of the country’s transport and logistics sectors and support a shift towards low-carbon rail systems. It appears the amount agreed upon has increased to accommodate the project’s updated price tag.
Alstom’s coming in heavy: Alstom upped its investment ticket for its Borg El Arab railway manufacturing complex, up to EUR 100 mn, Egypt Managing Director Ramy Salah Eldeen told EnterpriseAM on the sidelines of TransMEA last month. The firm initially inked a land usufruct agreement with the General Authority for Land and Dry Ports for the project in April — at the time the project had a EUR 80 mn price tag.
