Selection of bidder in 1,300 railcars tender postponed

CAIRO – 24 December 2017: The selection of a bidder after evaluating tenders that offered to supply 1,300 railcars with an approximate cost of $600 million will be postponed to the first quarter of 2018 instead of this year, sources in Railway Authority told Egypt Today.

The deal consists of supplying 800 VIP non-air-conditioned, 300 VIP air-conditioned and 200 regular air-conditioned railcars.

Priority will be given to the most efficient tender that is preferably coupled by a soft loan from the bidder’s state.

The Egyptian Railway Authority received three tender offers for the provision of 700 railcars, the authority’s vice-chairman Reda Abu Harga told Egypt Today on October 21. Abu Harga added that the offers are from Italy and Latvia, in addition to a joint Russian-Hungarian offer.

The vice-chairman explained that each offer includes the technical specifications and cost of each railcar and that all offers are being currently studied to select the most suitable one, expecting to seal the deal with one of the companies within days.

The tender entails that some of these railcars would be manufactured at the factories of the Arab Authority for Manufacturing. Abu Harga added that the authorities are still deciding upon the exact number of railcars that will be manufactured and assembled in Egypt, and the final cost for each.