Chinese company to build Alexandria monorail

26 October 2017
Straddle-beam type monorail to complement one of the world’s oldest tramways

Chinese automotive manufacturer BYD has signed an agreement to build a 128-km monorail transit system in Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city next to the capital Cairo.

The budget, financing options and timeline for the construction of the monorail were not disclosed.

The monorail will be a straddle-beam type, similar to the Hitachi-built monorail system in Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah.

BYD said it invested CY5bn ($750m) over a five-year period to develop its own straddle-beam monorail system, called Skyrail. “It is a clean, affordable and safe way for people to commute,” AD Huang, general manager of BYD Middle East, was quoted by a local media report as saying.

MEED understands that the first such monorail system has been put into operation in Yinchuan, the capital of China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region. BYD will also build the same monorail system in the southern Philippines city of Iloilo. The first phase of the 20km monorail is expected to become operational in 2019.

Alexandria is home to one of the oldest tramways in the world, which is currently being rehabilitated. The government said an estimated 13.7km section of the Raml tramway, extending from the Victoria station to the Raml station and then on to Manshya square, is to be upgraded.

Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) has prequalified six groups for the consultancy contract for the rehabilitation of the Raml tramway.

The groups that have been prequalified include:

  • Artellia Ville & Transport (France) / Ingerop (France) / Menarail (local)
  • Sener Ingenieria Y Systemas (Spain)
  • Setec Group (France) / Khatib & Alami (Lebanon)
  • Systra (France) / Egis Rail (France) / Ace Consulting Engineers-Moharram/Bakhoum (local) / Projacs (Bahrain)
  • TPF Getinsa Euroestudios (Spain) / Arep (France) / Bureau Egyptien de Conseils Techniques (BECT) (Egypt)
  • Typsa (Spain) / ECG Engineering Consultants Group (local)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A MEED Subscription...

Subscribe or upgrade your current MEED.com package to support your strategic planning with the MENA region’s best source of business information. Proceed to our online shop below to find out more about the features in each package.