The House of Representatives approved on Tuesday Presidential Decree No. 160 of 2026 regarding the financing agreement between Egypt and a group of European banks for the second and third lines of the electric high-speed railway network
A member of the board of directors of the National Authority for Tunnels explained that the loan, the first tranche of which, amounting to $3.9 billion, was approved by Parliament, will be followed by another agreement worth $511 million, which will be presented to Parliament at a later date.
The source told Al Manassa that the interest rate on the two loans will be 1.20% annually, with a grace period of up to six years, and repayment over 18 years in two installments per year.
Egypt’s transport sector has emerged as a flashpoint in the country’s mounting external debt burden, drawing repeated criticism of Transport Minister Kamel Al-Wazir. The minister responded by saying the current and projected liabilities stand at roughly 14 billion euros, while pledging the state has the capacity to meet repayment obligations.
According to the source, who requested anonymity, the consortium providing the high-speed rail loan consists of 18 banks, in addition to four coordinating agents for the two loans and two development agents for social development clauses.
In 2021, the government announced a major project to establish a 2,250-kilometer high-speed electric railway linking tourist areas such as Sokhna and Alamein with industrial production sites and active ports, including those on the Red Sea.
According to the source, the total cost of implementing the two lines reached about 13 billion euros, divided into three main components: 6.1 billion euros for electro-mechanical systems, including signaling, communications, control, and electric power supply, in addition to the supply of rolling stock, which will be carried out by the consortium that was awarded the contract, led by Germany’s Siemens, alongside Orascom and the Arab Contractors.
The financing also includes about 5.7 billion euros allocated to the local component, to be paid in Egyptian pounds, covering infrastructure works such as the construction of bridges, stations, and track overpasses, and to be implemented by Egyptian companies.
The third item amounts to about 1.2 billion euros, to be paid in Egyptian pounds from the National Authority for Tunnels’ budget, and is allocated to rails, switches, fastenings, sleepers, and other project components, according to the source.
The completion rate on the second and third lines has so far reached about 40%.
The second line of the high-speed rail network extends for nearly 1,100 kilometers from October Station west of Cairo along the Western Desert Road to Upper Egypt, reaching Aswan and Abu Simbel.
The third line extends for 175 kilometers, linking Qena Governorate to Safaga Port on the Red Sea. It includes three main stations with a capacity of about 200,000 passengers per day and the ability to transport up to 1,500 tons of freight.
The Ministry of Transport is continuing work on the first line of the high-speed rail network, whose 660 kilometers links Ain Sokhna to New Alamein through Alexandria, with an official opening planned for the end of 2026.
