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Thursday, 3 February 2022

AFC wants to invest USD 250 mn in monorail, high-speed rail projects

Multilateral lender Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) is looking to partially bankroll our monorail and high-speed train projects with a USD 250 mn facility, Al Mal quoted Sameh Shenouda, AFC’s executive director and CIO as saying. The Transport Ministry is currently looking into AFC’s proposal, but the two sides have not begun formal discussions yet, said Shenouda, adding that the loan could also be directed to other transport projects.

The AFC expects to invest USD 500-600 mn in Egypt this year, and is currently looking into funding four or five projects, Shenouda reportedly told Al Mal.

Among them is the Abu Tartour phosphate plant: The AFC is in talks with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to collaborate on a joint USD 710 mn loan for the project, according to Shenouda. The AFC and Afreximbank plan to stump up USD 200-300 mn each, and the rest would come from other financing sources, he said, without identifying them.

Background: The AFC is a pan-African multilateral lender focused on infrastructure. Owned by African governments and banks, it has channeled more than USD 10 bn into projects in 35 countries since its founding in 2007. Egypt formally became a member of the AFC in September, potentially unlocking some USD 1 bn in investments.

The government has been in talks with the financial institution on several projects, including the mooted rail finance, covid-19 vaccine manufacturing, and renewable energy facilities, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in September.

The light railway linking El Salam City to 10th of Ramadan City will open to the public in March, Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir said. The new 19-stop transit system will run via the new administrative capital and is expected to carry some 500k passengers a day.

Want to know more about the LRT line? We’ve got you covered with our in-depth project profile.

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