World Bank is looking to pay out USD 100 mn first tranche of soft loan to fund railway developments in Egypt in 1H 2025: The World Bank is set to disburse a USD 100 mn payment — the first tranche of a USD 400 mn soft loan — to the Egyptian Railway Authority in 1H 2025, Al Mal reports, citing sources it says are in the know. The funds are slated for logistics developments along the Cairo – Alexandria railway and will finance foreign contracts on signaling, communications, power networks, and other aspects of the project, the sources say.

Refresher: The project will enable 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 World Bank already approved a loan totaling USD 400 mn for the project back in 2022.

What happens now? The railway authority is considering bids from multinational companies for contracts related to the projects, with plans to award the contracts “soon,” the sources said. The railway authority is also in the final stages of choosing the consortium of local Egyptian construction firms that will handle local contracts for stations and infrastructure, the sources said. Contractors also have until mid-April of next year to submit proposals for the project’s design and implementation, with the authority expected to announce results by the following May.

Repayment: The World Bank’s terms specify repayment across 40 installments over a 20-year time frame beginning in 2029, Al Mal said.

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