Egypt signed a loan agreement with the French government for EUR 776.9 mn to fund the 55 new trains for Cairo Metro Line 1 being supplied by French manufacturer Alstom, according to a cabinet statement.
The terms: The 40-year development loan includes a 15-year grace period, with the funds to be paid back at a 0.0092% interest rate, the statement read. The state will pay nearly EGP 1.2 bn (EUR 58.8 mn) for the trains upfront.
The trains: Some 13% of the components used to build the trains will be sourced from Egypt via the Arab Organization for Industrialization’s SEMAF railway factory, the statement read. Alstom will also carry out maintenance work and supply spare parts for eight years as part of the contract, which was approved by ministers late last year. T
he trains are part of a larger facelift planned for Cairo’s oldest underground line, which has been backed with hundreds of mns of EUR from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other European lenders.
