The government plans to inject approximately 30 billion Egyptian pounds (about $570 million) into six transport projects under the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) and the Egyptian National Railways (ENR) during the next fiscal year, two informed sources told Al Manassa.
The sources noted that the local funding will coincide with a package of foreign loans currently under negotiation. The move comes as the state faces mounting pressure to accelerate transport infrastructure development despite fiscal constraints linked to falling revenues and rising debt-service costs.
The first source, a board member at the NAT, stated that the government will allocate approximately 19.5 billion pounds ($370 million) from the general budget to fulfill contractual obligations with the Spanish railway construction company CAF. This agreement includes the modernization, rehabilitation, and maintenance of 39 trains on Cairo Metro Line 2 and the maintenance of 23 trains on Line 1, as part of a plan to upgrade the fleet and improve service quality.
Last October, the Ministry of Transport withdrew from a 200-million-euro foreign loan for Line 2 maintenance after failing to reach a final agreement with international lenders over terms and grace periods.
The first source added that the Spanish company’s mandate includes conducting technical studies to extend Line 1 to Shibin al-Qanater and completing the extension of Line 2 to the Ring Road, with the aim of bolstering connectivity within Greater Cairo.
The source explained that the government funding also covers periodic maintenance and the continued development of Line 2 systems, alongside light maintenance undertaken by the Cairo Metro company to ensure operational continuity and safety.
Data from the NAT revealed that studies are underway to cancel the “July 23 – Shibin Al-Qanater” railway line, replacing it with a new 19-kilometer extension of Metro Line 1 starting from El Marg El Gedida and reaching Shibin Al-Qanater across 14 stations.
Work is also in progress to extend Line 2 by 3.2 kilometers north from Shubra El-Kheima through three new stations to reach the Ring Road, integrating the line with the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
The second source, a board member at the ENR said that funding allocations for the next fiscal year are estimated at 10.5 billion pounds (about $200 million). This budget aims to complete its traffic lights project and develop the 224-kilometer “Bashtil – Al-Ittihad – Al-Qabbari” line, in addition to paying out the remaining installments from the 2023 Russian train deal.
The source added that the funds will also cover rerouting the “Fuka – Samla – Ras El-Hekma” line. The path is being cleared for the High-Speed Electric Train, which is scheduled to begin serving the Ras El-Hekma area next year.
In late March, Transport Minister Kamel Al-Wazir stated in a televised interview that the ministry’s loans account for approximately 12.5% of Egypt’s total debt. He noted that these loans range between $18 billion and $20 billion out of the state’s total external debt of approximately $160 billion.
