Winner of tender to supply 100 train engines to Egypt to be announced within days

CAIRO – 10 March 2021: The Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA) will announce in a few days the winner in the tender offered to select a supplier of 100 train engines.

The deal is financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with €290 million, and the competition is among four international companies from the United States, Russia, and India.

A source told Egypt Today that General Electric, which is currently supplying 110 train engines, is most likely to win the tender.  Progress Rail Locomotives is also supplying 50 train engines to ERA.

Egypt has received 100 out of the 110 General Electric train engines in a $602.05-million deal. The contract also consists of the rehabilitation of 81 others of the current fleet at Tebin Workshop in Cairo, and the supply of spare parts for 15 years, in addition to offering technical support.

The Ministry of Transportation revealed there is more to those engines as they are remote control locomotives that can be operated from towers designed for that purpose.

Deputy Chairman of the Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA) Sami Abdel Tawab told Al Watan newspaper in August that the new engines are mainly operated.

The deal worth $466.3 million with Progress Rail Locomotives also consists of rehabilitating 50 train engines and maintaining 41 others.