The Ministry of Transportation recently announced 28 new investment opportunities in the transportation sector, which it said came as part of the ministry's aim to stimulate the national economy through attracting direct foreign investment. A high speed train that connects Alexandria and Aswan and passes through Cairo, Assiut and Luxor is proposed in the report and is expected to be completed in three phases. The first phase involves establishing a Cairo-Alexandria line that accommodates 10 to 18 million passengers a year, with an estimated cost of $3.5bn and a 5-year execution period. The second phase, which is to be implemented over a period of 8 years, involves a Cairo-Luxor line that accommodates 25 to 30 million passengers a year; however, its costs are currently being studied. The Luxor-Aswan line is the third phase of the project and is expected to be completed in five years; it will accommodate 25 to 30 million passengers a year, and its costs are yet to be determined. The ministry proposed a second railway project which would link the residential and industrial area of the 10th of Ramadan City to Cairo's Ain Shams, with a cost of $700m. The line will be a passenger and freight link, the ministry added. The third project is a Luxor-Hurghada railway line that originates in Luxor City and reaches Qena-Safaga. Safaga will be connected to Hurghada through the establishment of a new line. The project's costs are yet to be determined. With regard to roads and bridges, the transportation ministry stated that Egypt's roads need $8bn in investments over the next 5 to 10 years, adding that around 94% of freight is transported by road, which is why the country is in need more of transit points and connection links. The ministry proposed a Safaga–El Quseir–Marsa Alam road with an $85m cost, a $71m Ras Sudr-Sharm Al-Sheikh road and a $640m road that extends from Alex in the north west of the Nile to Abu Simbel in the South. In the logistics sector, the ministry said that seven logistics villages and dry ports are to be established, with the aim of enhancing trade facilitation for imports and exports and reducing truck traffic on roads. The ministry added that the private sector will "have a vital role" in that regard. The ministry also plans to establish a logistics centre in 6th of October City with an estimated cost of $100m; the centre will have access to the Ain Sokhna road and Alexandria and Dekhela ports in the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, the ministry also adopted new tunneling and urban transport projects in order to satisfy demand, accommodate the traffic increase and provide safe and efficient urban transportation. The ministry is appraising the development of the Heliopolis tram line and extending it to New Cairo; the project's estimated cost is valued at $435m. The World Bank is currently preparing a pre-feasibility study and tender documents before a decision is made. The ministry is considering the establishment of a fifth metro line, "Nasr City – Heliopolis – Rod El-Farag", which encompasses 17 underground stations, and a sixth metro line connecting El Khosous City near the Ring Road to New Maadi, which will include 24 stations. The costs of both projects are yet to be determined. The transportation ministry is also considering the establishment of a Port Said Tunnels project with the aim of providing services to the industrial region on the east coast of the Suez Canal; the project will include three tunnels under the canal. The ministry added that it will propose 17 projects in the maritime transport sector to investors, with a total estimated cost of around $1.6bn.
