Egypt gets $440 mln World Bank loan to support rail network

The World Bank has approved a $440 million loan to modernize signaling and upgrade track on 763 km of Egypt's 5,000 km rail network, the bank said in a statement.

The World Bank has approved a $440 million loan to modernize signaling and upgrade track on 763 km of Egypt's 5,000 km rail network, the bank said in a statement. Egyptian National Railways (ENR) will put $241 million into the project on the Cairo-Giza-Beni Surf section of the network, bringing the total cost to $681 million, the World Bank said.

Obstacles faced by ENR showed there was "margin for improving its performance, namely in the realms of operations, cost recovery, maintenance, and customer service", it said. Egypt has focused heavily on investment in transport and urban development infrastructure, seeking development finance to help fund the projects.

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