Egypt Signs $575m Agreement with GE for 100 multi-use Locomotives

Egypt signed a $575 million agreement with General Electric Co for GE to provide 100 new multi-use locomotives, 15 years of technical support and spare parts, and maintenance and upgrades of 81 trains, the government said.

Transport Minister Hisham Arafat said in a government statement the first shipment of 25 locomotives would arrive in 2018 as part of a plan to have 25 million tonnes of goods transported via railway by 2022.

The agreement also includes GE carrying out maintenance and upgrades on 81 trains the Egyptian National Railways bought in 2008, and training Egyptian engineers.

The agreement comes nearly a week after Arafat and minister of investment and international cooperation Sahar Nasr met with the CEO of GE Egypt Ayman Khattab to discuss GE proposals to contribute to developing the Egyptian railway network through procuring 100-200 train carriages, 35% of which to be manufactured in Egypt.