Egypt signs €290M agreement with EBRD for railway sector

CAIRO – 19 June 2017: Egypt has signed a €290 million ($324 million) agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr said Sunday.

The agreement will be used to finance the purchase of 100 train engines and their maintenance. It was signed with Janet Heckman, EBRD’s managing director for the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region.

The engines will be used primarily for passenger transport, Minister of Transport Hisham Arafat, who attended the signing, said in a statement.

The transport sector alone was financed by €450 million from the EBRD, Heckman said, noting that the total portfolio from the bank to Egypt reached € 2.7 billion for 47 projects.

EBRD’s agreement comes two days after the $575 million agreement with General Electric (GE) to supply 100 new multi-use engines.

The GE agreement includes the trains, 15 years of providing spare parts and technical assistance and offering maintenance to 81 new trains.

Arafat said earlier this week that the first group of engines, a total of 25, will reach Egypt in 2018.

The agreement includes training 275 engineers and workers in the railway system, and offering inclusive and competitive fiscal solutions to finance the project from GE along with Export Development Canada (EDC).