Your top infrastructure stories for the week include:

• Wastewater treatment: A USD 15 mn expansion of a USAID-financed wastewater treatment facility in Luxor is now online after International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat inaugurated the facility earlier this week, according to a cabinet statement. The new expansion increases the plant’s capacity by 36k cbm.
• Financing railway projects: The conversion of the Abu Qir railway into an underground metro will be completed under an EPC + Finance framework instead of the government having to resort to taking on debt from international lenders, an unnamed source told Al Mal. This framework means Egyptian and foreign businesses can form alliances and take on the project, including securing funding, entirely independently.
• Cairo Metro funding: The Finance Ministry is earmarking EGP 50.3 bn from state coffers over the next five fiscal years to finance the EGP 70 bn Phase 1 of Cairo Metro Line 4, Al Mal reports. The rest of the funds will be provided through a USD 1.2 bn loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
• Solid waste: Assuit is getting a new EUR 2.4 mn solid waste management facility after a consortium of unnamed international organizations provided the Environment Ministry with financing for the project, Al Mal reports.