The government of Egypt has awarded the contract for the implementation of the Ain Sokhna-El Alamein high speed train project. The contract was awarded to an Egyptian-Chinese consortium comprising of Egypt’s Samcrete Engineers and Contractors S.A.E and Arab Organization for Industrialization along with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, and China Railway Construction Corporation Limited.

The consortium according to the contract will design, finance, construct and operate the infrastructure that covers an area of approximately 543 kilometers from Ain Sokhna in the Suez Governorate to El Alamein in the northern Matrouh Governorate, through the cities of Sixth of October, Burj Al-Arab and Alexandria.

The first project of its kind in Egypt

To be implemented at a cost of about US$ 9bn, the project is the first of its kind in the North African country since 1854 with the ability to reach speeds of up to 250kmph. It is also the longest and the largest line in the Middle East region according to Sherif Nazmy, the CEO and managing director of Samcrete.

“The project is a major turning point for Egypt as it now joins the list of countries using express trains, thus completing the big boom in the transportation sector and the infrastructure and development projects that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi started,” explained Nazmy.

This project is also considered to be a second “Suez Canal” because it connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in a three-hour trip, accelerating the pace of development by transporting passengers and goods.

The Samcrete CEO and managing director also revealed that an agreement is in place with the Chinese partner to jointly build a factory in east Port Said to manufacture train coaches and transfer technology and know-how to Egypt and her citizens.