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Transportation Ministry begins two road and railway development projects in July Negotiations with international financial institutions to raise EGP 5bn to develop 1,200 km of railway
The Ministry of Transportation is set to begin the national project for the rehabilitation of the Egyptian National Railways (ENR), as per the directives of President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi. The Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation is currently negotiating with international financial institutions to raise EGP 5bn in order to finance the development of 1,200 km of the railway. Minister of Transportation Hesham Arafat said that his ministry is set to increase the maintenance fleet of the Egyptian National Railways, with investments of €4m. He noted that the capabilities of ENR subsidiaries are not sufficient to implement maintenance tasks, as they are now only capable of operating on 10 km per month. He explained that the ministry is currently enacting procedures to separate the transportation of goods and assign that activity to a joint stock company in cooperation with the private sector. The ENR is now also upgrading the hangars for goods trains with a cost of EGP 150m. Moreover, the authority is upgrading its mobile units fleet, where it is maintaining and improving 20 units per month, with a total of 650 units. The authority is working to sign a contract to buy six diesel trains at a cost of €126m, next to negotiating with international companies to provide 700 low-class carriages with 50% of its components being local. The ENR is also working on upgrading 60 out of 10,321 low-class carriages per month, as well as upgrading 60 middle-class carriages out of 1,223, along with 40 out of 650 AC class carriages. The authority also aims to develop 50 train stations per year with an allocated cost of EGP 150m. Meanwhile, the government is implementing the third phase of the national roadway project in July with investments amounting to EGP 9.5bn, financed by the state budget. The phase totals 1,154 km and will complement the national plan to increase the road network by 5,000 km in order to serve expected development projects. The phase includes developing the Cairo-Assiut Western Desert Road, which extends over 400 km and will cost EGP 4bn. The plan also includes adding a lane to the road linking Sohag and Assiut to the Upper Egypt-Red Sea roads, extending over 180 km. In addition, the plan will also add one lane to the 213 km Red Sea-Safaga-Marsa Alam Road, as well as link the Suez Road to the Ahmed Hamdy Tunnel, which will extend over 24 km, and add a lane to the 6th of October City-Wahat Road over 300 km. Furthermore, the plan includes the completion of the service road on the Cairo-Suez Highway, which extends over 37 km between the Regional Ring Road and the Ring Road. The General Authority For Roads, Bridges, & Land Transport (GARBLT) aims to complete a number of bridges in the coming year, including the Benha Bridge, which costs EGP 450m, and the Khatatba Axis at a cost of EGP 800m. The authority is also set to complete the Gerga Corridor at a cost of EGP 500m, the Tama Corridor at a cost of EGP 720m, and the Kalapsha Corridor at a cost of EGP 642m. In addition, the authority will establish a number of new corridors in the coming year's state budget, including the Fashin Corridor at a cost of EGP 1bn, the Samalout Corridor at a cost of EGP 1bn, the Dirout Corridor at a cost of EGP 1.2bn, and the Qos Corridor at a cost of EGP 1bn. GARBLT is now implementing a project to add one lane along 140 km of the Sohag-Qena Western Desert Road at a cost of EGP 350m. It is also developing the Cairo-Alexandria Agricultural Road at a cost of EGP 435m, along with over 73 km of the Benha-Aga-Mansoura Road at a cost of EGP 305m, as well as the Ring Road, extending over 100 km, at a cost of EGP 1bn.
