The USD 300 mn rail goods line linking Ain Sokhna with Helwan has now become the latest EEDC project to see its terms and conditions changed by the Transport Ministry, said Mohamed Maher, Vice Chairman of Prime Holding, the investment bank which marketed the project. The Transport Ministry wants the terms of the project, originally under a public-private partnership framework according to DNE, to be amended so that investors foot the bill for the whole project until it is operational, at which time the government would then pay part of the costs. Naturally, the move has drawn the ire of the three unnamed Chinese and Saudi companies vying for the project, as revenues of infrastructure projects traditionally fall over time, said Maher.

The news came as a lawyer filed a lawsuit calling on the president, prime minister, and the ministers of agriculture, health, and supply to stay the decision to allow imports of wheat with ergot contamination that meets international standards, Al Borsa reported.