meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Egypt outlines future rail project plans

11 April 2025

Egypt is undertaking a transformative expansion of its railway infrastructure, aiming to enhance connectivity, boost economic development and promote sustainable transportation.

According to the official website of the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT), eight key projects, including metro lines, high-speed rail and light rail transit (LRT), are currently in the study stage.

The first project entails the extension of Cairo Metro Line 1 to Shubra El-Kheima. The project involves extending the metro’s Line 1 from El-Marg north to Shubra El-Kheima, spanning about 19 kilometres (km) with 14 stations.

The second project, Cairo Metro Line 6, is a 34km-long line running parallel to Line 1. It will run north-south through the Greater Cairo neighbourhoods of Shubra El-Kheima and New Maadi, ending at the beginning of Ain El-Sokhna Road, Al-Khosos.

The third project is Line 4 of the high-speed train network extending from Port Said to Abu Qir in Alexandria.

Located in the North Delta region, the network will link Port Said and Abu Qir City in Alexandria. The line will have a total length of about 250km and 14 stations, passing through six governorates: Port Said, Dakahlia, Damietta, Kafr El-Sheikh, Beheira and Alexandria.

The line will ultimately connect with the Alexandria metro system, which is under construction. NAT and the French-Egyptian consortium of the local Orascom Construction and Colas Rail signed a €1.3bn ($1.39 bn) contract to build the Alexandria metro system.

The expansion of Cairo Metro Line 4 is part of NAT’s planned comprehensive railway programme.

Cairo Metro’s Line 4 is expected to be built in four phases, with the first phase already under construction. The first phase stretches 19km and has 17 stations, starting from the western ring road and ending in Fustat, Old Cairo. 

NAT is currently studying phases two, three and four of Line 4.

The second phase of the project will extend over 33km and include 22 stations, connecting Fustat, Nasr City and New Cairo.

The third phase aims to connect the Ashgar Gardens and Al-Hosary areas with a rail line that will span over 16km.

The fourth phase will be over 38km long and will connect the Al-Rehab area with the capital’s international airport to the east of Cairo.

The fifth project is phase five of the LRT system that links Cairo to the New Administrative Capital and 10 Ramadan City.

Construction on the first and second phases is complete, while work is progressing on phases three and four of the scheme. According to data from the regional projects tracker MEED Projects, Beijing-headquartered China Railway Group and Avic International are responsible for all the construction work.

The fifth phase of the project extends from the New Administrative Capital, crossing the Cairo-Ain Sokhna Road, to the industrial zone of the New Administrative Capital. It is about 7.8km long and has one station.

The fifth phase of Cairo Metro’s Line 3 comprises the sixth project. It will extend over 7.5km and include five stations to connect Heliopolis with Cairo International airport.

The construction works on Line 3 are largely completed. In April, NAT signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for package 4b of the fourth phase with a consortium led by Vinci, Bouygues, Arab Contractors and Orascom Construction to submit the initial design and the technical and financial presentation of the project.

The seventh project comprises the rehabilitation and maintenance of Cairo Metro’s Line 2. The scope involves modernising 39 Line 2 trains to reduce travel times, accommodate increasing passenger numbers and reduce maintenance costs.

The construction works on Line 2 began in 2010 and were completed in 2023.

The final NAT project comprises a line extending from the end of the second phase of Cairo Metro’s Line 4 at Al-Rehab to Cairo International airport.

It will pass through New Cairo, Madinaty, Shorouk, Badr City and New Heliopolis and end at the New Administrative Capital to connect with the light rail train at the international airport station.

According to MEED Projects, Egypt has been the most active market for the rail sector in the Mena region, with contracts worth over $34bn awarded in the past decade.

Line 6 plan 

In November last year, MEED reported that Egypt is planning to issue the tender for the construction of Cairo Metro Line 6 in 2025. The project will be constructed in two phases, and works will be completed in eight years.

In October last year, Egypt’s Ministry of Transport appointed a joint venture of French engineering consulting firms Egis and Setec as the consultants to study the second phase of Cairo Metro Line 6.

In November 2022, MEED reported that France’s Alstom had signed a framework agreement with NAT to design, build and maintain Cairo Metro Line 6.

This was followed by NAT signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Alstom for Line 6 in March 2022.

At the time of the MoU signing, Alstom was expected to work in consortium with French engineering company Colas and local companies Arab Contractors and Orascom on the project. Construction is expected to require six years to complete.

The project is backed by French funding as part of agreements signed by France’s Finance Minister Brune Le Maire during a trip to Egypt in 2021.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13663119/main.jpg
Yasir Iqbal

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Kuwait receives bids for Al-Khairan phase one IWPP

    2 June 2026

     

    Two developer consortiums have submitted bids for the first phase of Kuwait’s Al-Khairan independent water and power producer (IWPP) project, according to a source.

    Bids were received by the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (Kapp) on 1 June.

    The facility will have a capacity of 1,800MW and 150,000 cubic metres a day of desalinated water. It will be located in Al-Khairan, adjacent to the Al-Zour South thermal plant. 

    The bidders include:

    • Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) / A H Al-Sagar & Brothers (Saudi Arabia) 
    • Acwa (Saudi Arabia) / Gulf Investment Corporation (Kuwait)

    The Al-Khairan IWPP is being procured by Kapp in partnership with the Ministry of Electricity, Water & Renewable Energy (MEWRE).

    The main contract was tendered last September. Three consortiums and two individual companies were previously prequalified to participate in the tender.

    Ernst & Young, BNP Paribas, AtkinsRealis and Addleshaw Goddard are financial advisers on the project. Chadbourne & Parke is acting as legal adviser.

    The winning bidder will sign a set of public-private partnership agreements covering financing, design, construction, operation and transfer of the project. The energy conversion and water-purchase agreement is expected to cover a 25-year supply period.

    Future phases

    The Al-Khairan IWPP project is expected to run on low-sulphur fuel oil as the primary fuel and to accommodate crude oil, gas oil and natural gas as backup fuels. Future phases will further expand capacity.

    It is understood that the estimated $750m second phase of the Al-Khairan IWPP project will add a further 1,800MW of generation capacity through a combined-cycle gas-fired power plant.

    The project, first mooted over a decade ago, remains in the early development stages, with no plans currently to advance to procurement in 2026, a source said.

    According to the source, the immediate focus is on advancing plans for the 3,600MW Nuwaiseeb power and water desalination IWPP project.

    The Nuwaiseeb IWPP plant will have a desalination capacity of 75 million imperial gallons a day.

    Kapp plans to release a transaction advisory tender for the project by the end of the year.

    > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17072685/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Doosan confirms Saudi Jafurah 2 cogen contract

    2 June 2026

    South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility has confirmed it has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract worth about $556m for the second phase of the Jafurah combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Saudi Arabia.

    The project is being developed by Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) in partnership with Saudi Aramco.

    Doosan said the contract covers design, equipment supply, installation, construction and commissioning of the facility.

    The Jafurah CHP phase 2 project will be built near the Jafurah gas field, about 400 kilometres east of Riyadh. Once operational, it will generate 330MW of electricity and produce 465 tonnes of steam an hour for the nearby gas field.

    According to the firm, the project’s main steam turbine will be supplied by Doosan Skoda Power, a subsidiary of Doosan Enerbility.

    WSP is acting as the project management consultant for the project, which is scheduled for completion in 2029.

    The Jafurah gas development is part of Aramco’s $3.2bn unconventional resources programme, which aims to develop shale gas in three areas. Jafurah lies southeast of Ghawar, the world’s largest conventional oil field.

    The programme is part of Riyadh’s plans under Vision 20230 to ensure the kingdom remains self-sufficient in gas supply amid rising demand from the residential and industrial power sectors.

    Jafurah phase one

    In February 2025, MEED exclusively reported that talks were under way to expand the capacity of the $500m Jafurah cogeneration independent steam and power plant (ISPP).

    Construction works were completed on the facility last November.

    At the time of its procurement, the plant’s first phase was to have a power capacity of 270-320MW, and a low-pressure (LP) steam demand of 77-166 thousand pounds an hour (klb/hr) and high-pressure (HP) steam demand of 29-126 klb/hour by 2023.

    The LP and HP steam demand will increase to 283-373 klb/hr and 66-321 klb/hr by 2027, respectively.

    The oil giant issued the letter of award to Kepco for the contract to develop the Jafurah ISPP scheme in July 2022.

    Kepco subsequently awarded South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction the project’s EPC contract.

    US/India-based Synergy Consulting provided financial advisory services to Kepco on its bid.

    Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) served as the client’s financial adviser for the project. Germany’s Fichtner Consulting Engineers is technical consultant, while the UK’s Wood Group is project management consultant.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17072199/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Al-Mabanee submits lowest bids for Kuwait infrastructure

    2 June 2026

    Kuwait’s Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) has opened commercial bids for two major infrastructure and public buildings packages at South Al-Mutlaa Residential City.

    Local firm Al-Mabanee United Company has emerged as the lowest bidder for both contracts, submitting combined offers worth KD44m. Both packages entail the construction, completion and maintenance of services, infrastructure works and public buildings for different district centres within the city.

    The first contract covers the infrastructure and public buildings for the N3 District Centre. PAHW received proposals from eight bidders, with Al-Mabanee United Company submitting the lowest price at KD20.9m. The second-lowest offer was submitted by The Contractor General Trading & Contracting Company at KD22.4m, followed by Golden Engineering Group for General Trading & Contracting at KD22.7m, though Golden Engineering Group was flagged for not providing a bid bond.

    Al-Khonaini General Trading & Contracting Company, operating as Inshat Al-Khonaini, ranked fourth with a bid of KD22.7m, followed closely by Kuwait Industrial Centre Company at KD22.8m. Combined Group Contracting Company submitted a bid of KD23.8m, Al-Dar Engineering & Construction Company bid KD25.7m, and China’s Sichuan Road & Bridge Group Corporation submitted the highest active proposal at KD29m. 

    The second contract is for identical infrastructure and public building works at the N1 District Centre. Al-Mabanee United Company submitted the lowest bid of KD22.8m. Its closest competitor was The Contractor General Trading & Contracting Company, which submitted an offer of KD23.9m.

    Al-Khonaini General Trading & Contracting Company came in third with a bid of KD24.2m, followed by Kuwait Industrial Centre Company at KD24.4m and Golden Engineering Group for General Trading & Contracting at KD24.4m. Combined Group Contracting Company placed a bid of KD26m, Al-Dar Engineering & Construction Company bid KD26.5m, and United Construction Company, known as Al-Inshat Al-Muttahida, submitted an offer of KD 30.9m. Al-Ghanim International General Trading & Contracting filed the highest bid at KD344m and was also noted for lacking a bid bond.

    South Mutlaa Residential City is a large-scale planned development designed to accommodate around 400,000 residents in a modern, fully serviced urban environment. Once completed, it will offer contemporary housing alongside extensive logistical services and a wide range of public and commercial areas, including hospitals, schools and other social services.

    The project also includes major infrastructure works such as approximately 150 kilometres of roads and related structures, lighting and other public works, as well as integrated systems for water distribution, rainwater collection and sewage. In addition, it will provide the civil infrastructure needed for electricity distribution, telecommunications networks and traffic control to support a well-connected, functional city.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17071938/main.gif
    Colin Foreman
  • Local developer secures finance for three Riyadh projects

    2 June 2026

    Qimam Noshoz for Real Estate Development Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Banan Real Estate Company, has signed a sharia-compliant credit facility agreement worth SR84m ($22.4m) with Riyad Bank to fund three commercial, hospitality and sports developments in the kingdom.

    The financing agreement is split into two distinct tranches to align with the projects’ development timelines. The first tranche consists of SR49m with a maturity duration of seven years, while the remaining SR35m has been secured for an eight-year term.

    Qimam Noshoz will utilise the capital to fund construction works for the Al-Rahmaniyah Gem and Al-Wadi District Gem projects. Both of these projects are already leased to the fitness operator Armah Sports Company. The other project is an independent hotel located within the Al-Wadi District.

    The Al-Wadi development is designed as an integrated commercial complex spanning approximately 7,818.5 square metres of land, with a built-up area of about 975 square metres. It includes a men’s gym, a women’s gym and a hotel building.

    The Al-Rahmaniyah project is an integrated commercial development combining fitness facilities with retail. The asset features men’s and women’s gyms operating alongside an independent commercial zone.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17071628/main.jpg
    Colin Foreman
  • SLB wins $385m contract for Kuwait oil research centre

    2 June 2026

    Schlumberger Oilfield Eastern, a unit of the US-headquartered oilfield services company SLB, has been awarded a KD118m ($385m) contract to develop an oil and gas research centre in Kuwait.

    The contract was awarded by the state-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), according to a report by Kuwait’s Al-Rai newspaper.

    The Ahmadi Innovation Valley (AIV) project is planned as an advanced research and innovation hub equipped with specialised facilities and technical teams focused on applied research for Kuwait’s oil and gas sector.

    The contract was awarded after the Higher Purchase Committee (HPC) of Kuwait’s national oil and gas company Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) determined the bid to be compliant with the project’s technical and commercial requirements.

    In February 2025, KOC signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with five international oilfield service companies to support the development of the AIV initiative.

    These companies were:

    • SLB (US)
    • Baker Hughes (US)
    • Weatherford (US)
    • Halliburton (US)
    • National Energy Services Reunited (US)

    Under the preliminary agreements, each of the five companies agreed to establish a world-class research and development centre at the project site, focused on helping KOC meet challenges in the upstream sector.

    KOC’s CEO Ahmad Jaber Al-Eidan had said in February 2025 that the project will enable Kuwait to keep pace with global transformations while investing in advanced technologies to ensure the sector’s sustainability and achieve operational excellence.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17063475/main.gif
    Wil Crisp