Egypt's ambitious infrastructure project, already dubbed the “Suez Canal on rails,” is taking shape.
The country has begun construction of its first high-speed electrified railway, designed to provide fast and efficient overland communication between the Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts.
This was reported by Daily News, citing a statement by Egyptian Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir, reports a correspondent for the online publication Belnovosti.
During a recent inspection of the main section of the network, which will link the port city of Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea with the resorts of El Alamein and Matrouh on the Mediterranean, the minister visited the Oktyabrskie Sady depot under construction.
Spread over an impressive 578 acres (approximately 234 hectares), the facility will be one of the largest train maintenance and operations centres in the region, according to ministry officials.
The depot's scale is staggering: the complex will comprise 46 buildings, including a 67,000-square-meter heavy maintenance building and a state-of-the-art traffic control center, which is expected to become the leading one on the African continent and the Middle East.
The implementation of such a complex project requires the combined efforts of leading companies, writes Belta.
As it turns out, the depot's construction is being carried out by two powerful consortiums. A partnership of Egyptian companies, Orascom Construction and Al Rowad, is responsible for the civil engineering, architectural design, and infrastructure.
Meanwhile, a second consortium, including German giant Siemens, Orascom, and Arab Contractors, took on the most technologically complex tasks: track laying, signaling installation, electrification, and the implementation of automated control systems. The depot itself is designed to accommodate up to 50 trains and locomotives simultaneously, serving as the operational heart of all three planned lines of the future high-speed network.
Construction is picking up speed along the entire route. The National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) has reported significant progress in laying the track. In the sector located east of the Nile, 88.3 kilometers have already been laid.
Work is also progressing westward, where another 18 kilometers are completed, and northward, where 27 kilometers of track have been laid. Some of the prepared sections have already been handed over to a consortium led by Siemens for final work, including laying the ballast and installing the overhead contact line supports that will power the high-speed trains.
During the inspection, Minister Al-Wazir, accompanied by his deputies, also inspected the progress of finishing work at passenger stations and familiarized himself with plans for organizing future passenger traffic.
The head of the department issued strict orders to carry out construction around the clock, strictly adhering to quality standards, emphasizing the depot's key role in ensuring the safe and uninterrupted operation of the highway in the future.
The Ministry of Transport emphasizes that this megaproject is more than just a transportation artery. It is an important part of the national strategy for transitioning to a green economy and sustainable development, enshrined in Egypt's Vision 2030.
According to Kamel Al-Wazir, the new network is designed to dramatically improve the efficiency of logistics chains, become a powerful magnet for investment, and give impetus to the development of new urban agglomerations by reliably linking them with the country's existing economic centers.
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