Egypt’s Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, and Minister of Transport, Kamel Al-Wazir, have met to discuss the investment plan for the transport sector for the fiscal year 2025/2026. The meeting, held at the Ministry’s headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, also included a review of the executive progress of the Abu Qir metro project in Alexandria, which is funded by development partners.
Al-Mashat emphasised that the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation is preparing the economic and social development plan for the next fiscal year 2025/2026. This plan is based on the objectives of Egypt Vision 2030, integrated with the priorities of the government’s work programme and sectoral strategies, including the Transport Development Strategy 2030. The plan also supports the National Program for Structural Reforms and aims to stimulate private sector involvement in economic development through the State Ownership Policy Document.
According to Al-Mashat, the transportation sector is vital for supporting sustainable development, meeting the needs of economic activities, and enhancing the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy. She added that it facilitates urban development by connecting new cities with green and sustainable transport. In reviewing the investment plan for the transportation sector for the fiscal year 2024/2025, Al-Mashat highlighted the priorities of the upcoming fiscal year, particularly the transition towards a green economy and environmental sustainability within the government’s development efforts.
She highlighted the ministry’s commitment to green transformation in public investments, which includes achieving sustainability in Egypt’s Vision 2030 by integrating environmental standards and climate change measures into sectoral policies and strategies, increasing the share of green projects in the state’s investment plan, supporting institutional development, building capacity and technical expertise in the field of climate change, and promoting private sector participation, in order to increase the percentage of green public investments to 55% by FY 2025/2026.
Al-Wazir affirmed the importance of the transport sector for development and its impact on economic and social growth. He said that all economic sectors depend on the infrastructure of various transportation systems, which provide networks and connections that facilitate the movement of goods and increase trade. Transportation also facilitates citizen mobility for economic, commercial, tourism, educational, recreational, religious and medical purposes.
Al-Wazir noted the significant attention given to the transport sector by the political leadership, necessitating continuous development and expansion of transport plans through policy formulation and strategy development.
He also noted the achievements made in this sector under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, in all transportation sectors, whether in the field of roads and bridges, railways, electric traction, land and dry ports, logistics zones, sea ports, river transport, as well as Egypt’s expansion in establishing a network of environmentally friendly and sustainable green transportation means, expanding the establishment of dry ports and logistics zones and linking them to transportation means and establishing 7 integrated logistics corridors to help link production areas (industrial, agricultural and mining) to maritime ports or link the maritime ports on the Red Sea with those on the Mediterranean, serving new urban communities via a railway network (diesel/electric high-speed train) or the main road network through dry ports and logistics zones located on these corridors.
Moreover, the two ministers held a meeting in the presence of representatives of the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the French Development Agency, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the European Union in Cairo, and the leaders of the Ministries of Transport, Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation to follow up the executive status of the Alexandria Metro project, as well as discuss the future stages of the project, its feasibility studies and the latest developments related to the mobile units.
During the meeting, the executive status of the first phase of the project was reviewed, which extends over 21.7 km from Abu Qir Railway Station to Misr Station in Alexandria. This includes 6.5 km at ground level from Misr Station to just before Al-Zahriya Station, then 15.2 km elevated to Abu Qir Station, comprising 20 stations (6 ground-level and 14 elevated).
In this context, Al-Mashat confirmed the ministry’s keenness to coordinate with international development partners to meet the country’s requirements and priorities and complete the Abu Qir metro project in Alexandria because of its great importance in developing the transportation system in the governorate and promoting its transition towards a green economy, especially since Alexandria is one of the governorates that comes within the Green Cities program being implemented in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development emphasized the importance of the project, which will represent a significant qualitative leap in the sustainable green mass transport system in Alexandria and will contribute to achieving the targeted rapid economic and social development for Alexandria Governorate, adding that the project aims to achieve the safe operation of the line, especially after eliminating the skids and many illegal crossings and intersections with traffic, as well as accommodate the increasing transportation traffic and the number of trips and contribute to reducing traffic congestion in Alexandria and reducing fuel consumption as the operation is based on energy.
He further stated that the project will contribute to increasing the maximum passenger capacity from 2,850 passengers/hour/way to 60,000 passengers/hour/way. The project will reduce the journey time from 50 minutes to 25 minutes, increase the operating speed from 25 km/h to 100 km/h, and achieve a shorter interchange time from 10 minutes to 2.5 minutes. The line also achieves the interchange of passenger transportation service with the Cairo/Alexandria railway line at Misr Station, the Cairo/Alexandria railway line and Raml tram at Sidi Gaber Station, the Raml tram at Victoria Station, and the Rashid railway line at Maamoura Station.
