EXCLUSIVE: Egypt to issue high-speed rail tender imminently

05 June 2018

A consortium of US-based Aecom and French consultancy Systra is expected to complete before the end of June the terms of reference for the contract to build, finance and operate an electric high-speed passenger and freight rail that will link Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea coast and the new Alamein city on the Mediterranean coast.

The tender could then be issued to prequalified bidders in the third quarter of 2018, a source familiar with the project tells MEED.

In March, Egypt’s Ministry of Housing, Utilities & Urban Communities and the Transport Ministry shortlisted 10 consortiums to bid for the contract. They were:

  • Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (Italy) / Ansaldo (STS) & Hitachi (Italy/Japan) / Saipem (Italy)
  • Vinci / Colas Rail / Alstom / Bouygues Travaux / SNCF (all from France)
  • Avic (China) / China Railway Group Engineering Corp (China) / Siemens (Germany) / Deutsche Bahn (Germany) / Orascom (local) / Arab Contractors (local)
  • Power China (China) / El-Sewedy Electric (local) / Mathia / Talgo  (Spain) / Indra (Spain) / Inabensa (Spain)
  • Mathia / Talgo  (Spain) / Indra (Spain) / Inabensa (Spain)
  • China Gezhouba Group (China) / China Railway Construction (China) / Samco National Construction (local)
  • Hyundai / Rotem (South Korea)
  • China Civil Engineering Construction (CCEC) / China Railway 14th Bureau Group / China Railway Fifth Survey and Design Institute Group (CR5DI) (China)
  • Eiffage (France) / Hassan Allam Sons (local) / Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) (Lebanon)
  • Norinco / China Real Estate Information Corporation (CRIC) / China Railway Design Corporation (CRDC) (China)

The 534-kilometre high-speed rail is to be executed using a combined engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and financing model.

This project comprises the first phase of Egypt’s plan to build 2,000km of high-speed rail to complement its existing mainline network.

A second 1,500km high-speed railway linking Sokhna and Marsa Alam on the western shore of the Red Sea is also planned.

However, no specific timeline has been provided for the second line.

Egypt also recently updated an old law to allow private sector companies to invest and operate in the country’s rail sector.

The updated law is expected to “allow private companies to invest in the construction of new lines as well as other activities relating to financing and operating existing lines”.

The old law was enacted in 1980 to establish and define the role of Egyptian National Railways (ENR) as the sole owner and operator of the country’s mainline railway assets.

Egypt is modernising its existing mainline railway, which, at 9,600km, is the longest of its kind in the Middle East and Africa region.

 

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