Egypt’s Ministry of Housing, Utilities & Urban Communities and the Transport Ministry have invited prequalified consortiums to bid by 9 September 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.

Ten groups have been prequalified to bid for the contract. They include:

• 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)
• 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)

MEED understands that a consortium of US-based Aecom and French consultancy Systra prepared the terms of reference for the engineering, procurement, construction and finance (EPC+F) contract.

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

A second 1500km high-speed railway linking Sokhna and Marsa Alam on the western shore of the Red Sea is also planned. No specific timeline has yet been provided for the second line.

Egypt 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."

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