Egypt will establish its first factory in the North African country to produce multiple unit trains that use electric traction and diesel, for its railways and a monorail in East Port Said, said Ministry of Planning. These remarks came during a meeting held on Wednesday and attended by Minister of Planning and Hala El-Said, Minister of Transport Kamel El-Wazir and the head of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority Yahia Zaki. During the meeting, they discussed the schedule of the project's implementation, its economic studies, and the expected production volume. The factory is expected to be managed by the Egyptian Railways Services and Maintainance Co. (ERMAS) in partnership with the private sector, the Suez Canal Economic Zone, Egypt's Sovereign Fund and a number of international companies. Minister El-Wazir said Egypt has an ambitious plan to establish a local multiple unit train industry, which is part of a wider project to localise the railway industry and serve the domestic and African markets in light of growing demand in locally and domestically. The establishing factories that produce multiple unit trainswill benefit Egypt's national economy, provide hard currency and job opportunities, in addition to fulfilling the needs of the railway and metro sectors, El-Wazir added. Minister El-Said said investing in the transport sector, under Egypt's strategic vision 2030, has contributed to improving Egypt's ranking in the international competitiveness index on road quality and infrastructure from 118th place in 2014 to 28th in 2019.
