Egypt has advanced its industrial localisation efforts with the signing of a joint financing agreement on Thursday for the National Egyptian Railway Industries Company (NERIC). The agreement involves the National Bank of Egypt, the Commercial International Bank (CIB), and the Arab African International Bank, aiming to support NERIC's ambitious railway manufacturing projects in East Port Said. Kamel El-Wazir, Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport emphasised the strategic significance of the project, aligning with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's vision to localise key industries, including railway manufacturing. The Minister highlighted that NERIC's facility, spanning 300,000 square metres, is being developed in three phases. The first phase, currently under construction, includes a factory dedicated to producing railway and metro carriages. The second phase will focus on monorail, high-speed trains, and light rail stock, while the third phase will address refurbishing outdated metro and railway carriages. Once operational, the factory, in partnership with South Korea's Hyundai Rotem, will produce 40 metro trains consisting of 320 air-conditioned carriages for Cairo Metro Lines 2 and 3. Plans are also underway to manufacture 500 railway carriages locally through collaborations with a leading global transport company and the Ministry of Transport. Ahmed El-Mofty, Project Manager at NERIC, revealed that the factory is expected to commence operations by mid-2025. The first phase alone is projected to involve investments of approximately 4.2 billion Egyptian pounds, marking a significant step in Egypt's industrial development and self-reliance in transport manufacturing. Attribution: Egyptian Cabinet Subediting: M. S. Salama
