Korea signs $460mn contract to manufacture coaches for Cairo Metro lines 2, 3

Cairo, Egypt (Urban Transport News): Egypt's Ministry of International Cooperation signed a $460 million deal with the Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) to implement a project for co-manufacturing and providing trains for Cairo underground metro lines 2 and 3.

The agreement was signed by Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat and Korean Ambassador to Egypt Kim Yong-Hyun with the EDCF on 12th June 2023.

Under the agreement, the Korean government, represented by the EDCF, will provide $460 million out of the total project cost of $656 million, the embassy added.

The deal is related to an agreement signed 10 month ago with the Korean company Hyundai Rotem.

In August 2022, Egypt’s National Tunnels Authority (NAT) signed a $656 million deal with the Korean manufacturer and supplier of railway systems Hyundai Rotem to locally produce and import 320 new air-conditioned metro carriages by 2028. 

The deal, overseen by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, provides a total of 40 new metro carriages to the two lines of the Cairo Metro.

“The two countries are witnessing the strengthening of cooperation more than ever before,” the embassy statement quoted Al-Mashat as saying.

The agreement is one of the excellent examples of cooperation between the two countries. It is meant to expand transportation networks and boost economic development, Al-Mashat added. 

Ambassador Kim, who assumed his post as ambassador as of 31st May 2023, described the agreement as a prominent example of steps aimed at strengthening development cooperation between the two countries.

The project is expected to be the cornerstone of more projects between the two countries in the future, and will contribute to a tangible improvement in the standard of living of the Egyptian people, Kim added.

The ambassador noted that he would work to enhance economic and development cooperation during his tenure in Egypt and expand cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries.