The Transportation Ministry will start contracting procedures to manufacture 700 rail cars and 25 air-conditioned trains worth 1 billion euros in investments as part of a project to develop the country's fleet of trains, in accordance with a memorandum of understanding signed with Hungary during President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s visit to Budapest last week.
Transportation Minister Hani Dahi said negotiations with Hungary started last July. A previous offer stated that 700 rail cars and 15 trains would be imported over a period of three years and the repayment grace period could stretch to up to 10 years.
In remarks to Al-Masry Al-Youm, the minister said negotiations were able to increase the number of trains to 25, and that they would be imported within 18 months of the contract signing, with a grace period that could reach up to 15 years. The assembly of trains will take place at the Arab Organization for Industrialization.
Dahi added that his ministry started a national project to raise the efficiency of the trains by importing five air-conditioned rail cars from China. Another 15 rail cars will arrive next week. Two trains will be operational starting August. One hundred-twenty air-conditioned, first and second class, rail cars are already operational.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
