We’re getting EUR 40 mn from the EBRD for freight + passenger rail line: Egyptian National Railways (ENR) has secured a EUR 40 mn loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to partially finance work on the Robeiky-10th of Ramadan-Belbeis freight and passenger railway line, according to a project document. The line will connect the 10th of Ramadan Dry Port to the main rail network and eastern and northern ports in Egypt.

The breakdown: The loan will be used to partially finance the supply and installation of railway tracks and signaling and telecommunication systems. The remaining cost of the c. EUR 220 mn project is expected to be financed through a loan from another financial institution, while the government will self-fund the project's civil works, according to the statement.

The line will allow freight transport to bypass the Cairo railway junction, and will also serve commuter traffic between Robeiky, 10th Ramadan, and Belbeis. The line will “contribute to a modal shift of cargo and passenger transport from road to rail,” the statement says, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

There are other green freight railway solutions in the pipeline: The World Bank approved a USD 400 mn financing agreement earlier this month to help finance the construction of a low-carbon railway bypass between the Port of Alexandria and the newly-constructed Sixth of October dry port.