Govt. denies intention to privatize railways

CAIRO - 15 September 2018: The Ministry of Transportation denied on Friday the intention to privatize the railway facilities, confirming the sector will always remain under the public sector's authority.

The ministry stressed in a statement released on Friday that partnership with the private sector is just for development, improving the quality of services and upgrading the efficiency of the vital facility that serves about 350 million passengers annually.

"The government aims at the renaissance of the sector by applying a comprehensive development plan targeting the infrastructure, the electrification of signals and mobile units and upgrading the maintenance of the sector," the statement reads.

Minister of Transportation Hesham Arafat added that new engines will be delivered to Egypt by 2019, and that there is a crucial maintenance plan for engines currently in service.

Egypt’s House of Representatives approved in March 2018 a bill amending certain provisions of Law No. 152 of 1980, to allow private actors to manage and operate the national railway network.

The amendment allows parties from outside the National Railway Authority, including ordinary citizens and legal entities, to participate along with the National Railways Authority in the management, operation, and maintenance of the railway network and equipment as well as their development and consolidation.

The bill permits the National Railways Authority to set up joint companies alone or with other partners. The shares of these companies shall be traded as soon as they are established.

Siemens, General Electric, and China Railway Construction Corporation, are among the proposed private multinationals cooperating in the government development plan.