SEMAF, a factory under the state-owned Arab Organization for Industrialization, will start manufacturing 606 freight railcars for the Egyptian National Railways Authority (NRA) in the second quarter of 2026, at a total cost exceeding 3 billion Egyptian pounds ($63.8 million), a member of the authority’s board told Al Manassa.
The source, who asked not to be named, said the cars slated for production over this year and next represent the second batch under a contract between NRA and SEMAF to supply 1,215 freight cars of different models.
The source added that the NRA has approved the final designs for the new cars, and that the factory will deliver them in batches of 100 cars each over two years from the start of production.
The Ministry of Transport and the NRA aim to expand their freight fleet to raise annual freight volumes to 13 million tons by 2030, up from 7 million currently, according to the latest official statistics.
Two years ago, the Ministry of Transport awarded operation of the freight transport sector to a consortium of Al-Gharabli and 3A International for 15 years, in return for 500 million pounds ($10.6 million), after expectations that the contract’s value would reach about 1 billion pounds ($21.3 million).
The source said the NRA will begin paying for the deal from its own resources amid growth in its revenues to about 17 billion pounds ($360 million), after the government approves the new 2026/2027 fiscal year budget.
In 2023 and 2024, the NRA received 609 cars as the first batch under its contract with SEMAF, in addition to the supply of 73 power cars out of a total of 173 being delivered from the same factory.
The source said that once the new deal enters service, the NRA’s total freight fleet will rise to 9,150 cars.
The ministry’s tunnels authority previously also agreed with SEMAF to produce 210 freight cars for the high-speed electric rail network, with 90% local content and a total cost reaching 1.6 billion pounds ($34 million), a source previously told Al Manassa.
At the start of January, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly inspected development work at the SEMAF factory, saying the upgrade represents an integrated system to localize transport manufacturing in Egypt, boost the economy, save foreign currency, open new export opportunities, and build Egyptian technical staff capable of competing regionally and internationally.
