Egypt, China to establish electric train project worth $1.2B

CAIRO – 24 July 2017: The electric train project linking between Salam City and the New Administrative Capital will be established with the cooperation of a Chinese company at a total value of $1.2 billion, Minister of Transport said Monday.

The sum includes $700 million to be offered by Exim Bank of China in the form of a facilitated loan with 2 percent interest rate. The signals, communication and control works of the 20 air-conditioned train project will be carried out by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

The remained $500 million of the project’s cost will be funded from the state’s budget and will cover the civil, construction and rail works which will be undertaken by Egyptian contracting companies, the Minister of Transport, Hisham Arafaat added to Egypt Today.
The project will be implemented in 24 months instead of 30 months, as per the instructions of the President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

Arafaat noted that the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has agreed on the conditions of the Chinese loan offered to finance the project, which will be paid over 20 years.

Moreover, a maintenance contract annexed to the project was signed with the Chinese party for a 10-year term, whereby Avic pledges to conduct the maintenance works of the trains and signals and control apparatus, in addition to helping the Egyptian firm in operating the project for two years to train it on the operation of the electric train, of which speed amounts to 120 kilometers/hour.

Arafat pointed out that the electric train will start from Salam City, linking the cities of Greater Cairo, Obour, Shorouk, Badr and the New Administrative Capital through the 10th of Ramadan City, over 11 stations along 66 kilometers.