Egypt announces establishment of 1st Egypt-Sudan railway connection

CAIRO –4 November 2019: Egypt is building a railway line of 6,000 km in length to connect Upper Egypt with Sudan to facilitate the movement of Egyptian exports to Sudan then to central Africa, said Minister of Transportation Kamel el-Wazir in a statement on Sunday.

On February 11, 2019, former Minister of Transportation Hisham Arafat said that the High Dam station is expected to become an important logistic area, as it could greatly contribute to strengthening trade exchange and cargo transport between Egypt and Sudan.

The new line will start from Abu Simbel city, southern Egypt, to the Sudanese town of Abu Hamad. The line's construction takes 36 months; a transitional station will be established in the Sudanese city of Wadi Halfa in the northern part, Egypt’s state-owned news Agency MENA reported on October 9, 2018.

In his meeting with Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in Cairo in September 2019, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi assured that Egypt supports Sudan’s security and stability, and the Sudanese people’s choices.

“Egypt is keen to make sure that Sudan returns to its normal role on the regional, Arab and African levels,” said Sisi, ensuring continuous cooperation and coordination with Sudan in several issues of mutual concern, including the electricity grid connection and the railway connection to increase bilateral trade.

Additional reporting by Walaa Ali