NERIC to begin electric locomotive production by year-end: The National Egyptian Railway Industries Company (NERIC) will begin manufacturing electric locomotives at its East Port Said factory by the end of 2022, Samcrete Chief Business Development Officer Refky Kamel said, according to Hapi Journal’s print edition. NERIC is currently still building the factory, according to Kamel.

This is later than previously expected: Previous reports had suggested NERIC’s factory would come online and begin production by mid-2022.

Refresher: NERIC was set up in late 2020 as a JV between the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the Transport Ministry, East Port Said Development, Hassan Allam, Samcrete, and Orascom Construction. The company was established as part of a state-led bid to localize the rail industry and specializes in producing and refurbishing locomotives. South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem has now reportedly joined the JV, Kamel said, without providing further details.

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MEANWHILE- Spanish train manufacturer Talgo and the Transport Ministry are considering setting up a railway manufacturing facility, according to an Ittihadiya statement following President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s sit-down with Talgo Chairman Carlos Oriol. Talgo recently signed an MoU with Egyptian National Railways to supply Egypt with seven sleeper trains as part of the country’s railway overhaul, and is also supplying us with six new passenger trains.