Egyptian Transport Minister Alaa Fahmy has invited the private sector to partake in joint-ventures with the government in the transport sector, where improvements in infrastructure are much needed. At a meeting of the CanadaEgypt Business Council on Tuesday night, Fahmy said that the LE8 billion earned by the government from a mobile operator license recently granted to the UAE-based Etisalat is not enough to improve the transport sector, and stressed the need for larger investments. Fahmy said the newly-approved law on partnership between the government and the private sector in infrastructure projects will enable partners to contribute more funds. He predicted the transport sector will witness a remarkable rise in investments in the coming period. According to Fahmy, railway services have seen some improvement as the number of locomotives in use has increased from 230 to 550. The minister added that a joint plan with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry will aim to establish a number of inland ports in the industrial zones of 6 October, 10 Ramadan, Tanta, and Daqahlia. Fahmy said these ports will act as areas for gathering goods that will then be transported to seaports. On the other hand, Salah Diab, CEO of Pico Engineering Group, said that renovations in railway transport should extend to all relevant utilities and not be solely limited to trains. He suggested installing new railways in Hurgada, which would be unprecedented, and emphasized the importance of developing popular means of transport, such as micro-buses, which accounts for 65 percent of transportation in Cairo and the provinces. Tamer Abu Bakr, former deputy manager of the General Petroleum Corporation, said that the transport sector will not move forward without at least LE100 billion in private investments. Meanwhile, Hamdy el-Tahhan, chairman of the People's Assembly's Transport Committee, said that railways still face several problems, warning that current renovations do not look promising. The government's economic development plan for the fiscal year 2010/2011 aims to provide LE33.8 billion for the transport sector, 60 percent of which will be devoted to new roads, bridges, and subway projects. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
