The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a formal loan request from the government for €250m to partially fund a project to convert Alexandria's Abu Qir railway into an underground metro. The existing railway connects downtown Alexandria with Abu Qir, north-east of the city. The EBRD loan will finance infrastructure works and relevant rail system upgrades, including signalling, telecommunications, and centralised control systems. The loan is part of an investment package estimated at €1.6bn, which is expected to be co-financed by the European Investment Bank, the French Development Agency, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The project will be implemented by the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT), a state-owned executive agency affiliated to the Ministry of Transportation. The Abu Qir metro will help Egypt promote its green transition in transport through shifting an individually operated railway into a sustainable, accessible, and inclusive public transport means. The operation of the new metro will be assigned through a long-term contract to an experienced metro operator following its completion, which will support the private sector involvement in urban transport service provision.
