Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Thursday witnessed the signing of two contracts on partnership, manufacturing and supplying of railway turnouts at Abbasiya workshop between the Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA) and Austria’s Voestalpine Group.
Minister of Transport Kamel el Wazir and Vice President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Carmen Goby attended the signing ceremony.
In statements, Madbouly said this agreement comes as part of the directives of the political leadership to upgrade the railway system to cope up with the international standards and enhance the local manufacturing of industrial components.
Meanwhile, Wazir said the new production of railway turnouts will be sponsored by Austrian experts, noting that this step is very important to support the transport industry in Egypt.
According to the contract, about 300 high-performance turnouts will be manufactured annually after elevating the productivity of the current production line, Wazir noted.
The minister also pointed out that the local production’s percentage would be upgraded at the workshop, noting the contract aims to reach self-sufficiency of railroad turnouts in light of the Transport Ministry’s plans to expand railway projects, including the metro and electric trains.
He also said this contract is a successful model of partnership with international operators from the private sector, adding that this comes as part of the ministry’s plan to expand cooperation with the private sector in the operation and running of the railway workshops.
Voestalpine is one of the major international companies in the manufacturing of railway turnouts with a total annual business of euros 15 billion and around 55 branches worldwide.
MENA
