Hyundai Rotem won a bid launched by the National Authority for Tunnels — a subsidiary of the Egyptian Ministry of Transportation — to provide and locally produce subway trains for the second and third lines locally with a budget of $656m.
Hyundai Rotem will provide trains for the second and third Metro lines until 2028 and will maintain them for eight years after the expiration of the guarantee period. Additionally, it will work on transferring its technology to the newly established National Egyptian Railway Industries Company (NERIC).
South Korea’s Ambassador in Cairo Hong-Jin Wook expressed his gratitude for the Egyptian side’s efforts to ensure the success of this bid in his remarks during the signing ceremony between Hyundai Rotem, NERIC, and the Egyptian National Authority for Tunnels, which was held on 24 August in Al-Alamein in the presence of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Transportation Kamel Al-Wazir, Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said, Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Saleh, and Chairperson of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) Walid Gamal Al-Din.
Hong added that the success of this bid symbolises the deep economic cooperation between Korea and Egypt — a cooperation geared towards building a better future that goes beyond the monetary aspects of this tender, as strengthening the transportation infrastructure is expected to increase the social welfare of Egyptian citizens, as well as boost Egyptian exports.
Furthermore, the ambassador praised the Egyptian government’s efforts in expanding the metro and railway network in major cities, as it introduced high-speed railways and encouraged various large-scale projects.
He expressed his hope that winning the bid would strengthen cooperation between the two nations, and he expects economic cooperation to continue flourishing between the two countries after the recent success of the bid and the successful conclusion of the K9 Export Contract last February. Moreover, he expressed his hope that the success of Hyundai Rotem would be an incentive to promote cooperation between the two brotherly countries.
The Korean Embassy in Cairo provided support for the success of this bid by arranging meetings between Hong and senior Egyptian officials, including Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat and Head of the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) Sherif Hassan, emphasising the importance of this project in improving the standard of living of Egyptians and its contribution to the Egyptian economy.
Additionally, the embassy provided great support to the endeavours of Hyundai Rotem by coordinating a meeting with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and President of Hyundai Rotem Lee Young-Bae in April of 2021, and also by arranging a meeting between Minister of Transportation Kamel El-Wazir and his South Korean counterpart during the latter’s visit to Egypt in March 2022.
