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
  • Egypt approves plans for 869MW wind power plant

    22 June 2026

    Egypt’s Cabinet has approved plans for French renewable energy developer Voltalia to develop an 869MW wind power project.

    The scheme will be built on land allocated by the New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), according to a statement posted by the Cabinet following its most recent weekly meeting.

    Voltalia will make an initial investment of $53m and has committed to achieving commercial operations by December 2028.

    Voltalia already operates the 32MW Ra solar plant at the Benban solar complex in Aswan and is expanding its renewable energy portfolio in Egypt.

    Previously, in 2024, it signed a framework agreement with Egypt’s Taqa Arabia to develop a green hydrogen and renewable power cluster near the Ain Sokhna port in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

    The green hydrogen development is planned in two phases, each centred on a 500MW electrolyser powered by more than 1.3GW of renewable generation capacity. The project, still in its early stages, is expected to produce up to 350,000 tonnes of green ammonia a year.

    Voltalia’s partnership with Taqa Arabia also includes plans for a 3.2GW hybrid wind and solar project to repower the existing 545MW Zafarana wind farm in Suez Governorate. The Cabinet statement did not indicate whether the newly approved 869MW wind project forms part of that proposal.

    Meanwhile, the developer won another contract, earlier this year, to develop a 132MW solar power project in Tunisia’s Gabes region.

    The project, known as Wadi, marked Voltalia’s third major solar award in the country after the Sagdoud and Menzel Habib projects awarded in 2024.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17376730/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Local firm signs Jeddah drainage contracts

    22 June 2026

    Local contractor Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies (AWPT) has announced it has signed two contracts with Jeddah Municipality to operate and maintain stormwater and surface water drainage networks across the city.

    The contracts have a combined value of SR202.06m ($53.9m), and each will run for five years.

    The first contract, valued at SR108.46m ($28.9m), covers the operation and cleaning of stormwater and surface water networks in the South and Al-Malisa sub-municipalities.

    The second contract, worth SR93.59m ($25m), covers similar services for the Airport Sub-Municipality.

    In March, MEED reported that the firm had won a long-term contract to carry out work in the airport’s sub-municipality area. The agreement was signed on 16 June.

    Elsewhere, construction has yet to begin on phases one and two of the King Abdullah Road-Falasteen Road tunnel project, each valued at about $175m.

    According to sources, Jeddah Municipality selected Saudi contractor Thrustboring Construction Company to build the large-diameter stormwater drainage tunnels in 2025. However, an official agreement has yet to be signed.

    The municipality was also previously planning to rehabilitate the existing Al-Zahra pumping station. Prequalification for the project began in 2020; however, it is understood that the main contact tender was cancelled last year.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17376097/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Qiddiya seeks contractors for indoor arena project

    22 June 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi Arabian gigaproject developer Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) has invited contractors to prequalify for a contract to build an indoor sports arena within its Qiddiya entertainment city project.

    The invitation was issued on 21 May, with a submission deadline of 28 June.

    The multipurpose arena is designed to International Olympic Committee standards.

    It will be located in District 18, in the Uptown South area of Qiddiya.

    Once completed, the indoor arena will be capable of hosting a wide range of sports, cultural and entertainment events.

    The arena will feature numerous sports courts for basketball, handball, futsal, volleyball, tennis, boxing and gymnastics.

    It will have a seating capacity of 18,000 spectators.

    The project is scheduled for completion by 2030.

    QIC’s other major projects include an e-sports arena, the National Tennis Centre, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium, a motorsports track, a racecourse, the Dragon Ball and Six Flags theme parks, and Aquarabia.

    QIC opened the Six Flags theme park to the public in December last year.

    The park covers 320,000 square metres and features 28 rides and attractions, including 10 thrill rides and 18 aimed at families and young children.

    The Qiddiya project is a key part of Riyadh’s strategy to boost leisure tourism in the kingdom.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17375504/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Egypt signs gas deal with Harbour Energy

    22 June 2026

    Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources has signed a new agreement with London-headquartered Harbour Energy.

    Under the scope of the agreement, Harbour Energy will drill two new exploration wells and carry out maintenance work for one of the existing wells within the Dsouq-1 development contract.

    Harbour Energy committed an initial $6m investment and a $1m signing bonus for the Dsouq concession. Total investment could rise to $18m if commercial discoveries are made.

    The signing was witnessed by Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum, Karim Badawi.

    He said that his ministry is continuing to implement a package of investment measures and incentives aimed at encouraging partners to increase investments and intensify exploration, development and production activities.

    The agreement was signed by Syed Saleem, a member of the executive branch of the state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), and Samah Sabry, the executive director of Harbour Energy for the Middle East and North Africa region.

    Harbour Energy drilled two new wells in Egypt during the fiscal year 2025/2026, resulting in the addition of reserves estimated at 35 billion cubic feet of gas.

    The company aims to drill three new exploration wells during the fiscal year 2026/2027.

    Egypt is currently pushing to boost the production of both oil and gas in its territory.

    Earlier this month, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources announced that it had fully settled all outstanding arrears owed to oil and gas companies.

    Two years ago, in June 2024, the country owed approximately $6.1bn to partners in the oil and gas sector.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17374536/main4731.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Iran invites companies to register for Kharg Oil Terminal development

    22 June 2026

     

    Iran has invited companies to participate in a project to develop the existing Kharg Oil Terminal, according to documents released by the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company and Iranian Oil Terminals Company.

    The project focuses on developing units capable of receiving, storing and exporting extra-heavy West Karun crude oil at a rate of 700,000 barrels a day.

    The scope of the project includes design, purchase, installation and commissioning of the new facility.

    The contract will use the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model, according to the tender documents.

    The project aims to use existing oil storage tanks and reconstruct the deepwater crude oil export berth known as Berth Number One.

    The berth known as Berth Number Three will serve as a backup berth for the project.

    The winning bidder for the contract will be responsible for a range of works, including:

    • Carrying out all stages of verification of the project’s basic design, design and engineering
    • Supply and procurement of goods and materials
    • Execution and installation
    • Pre-commissioning and commissioning

    The project is expected to take 30 months to complete, and the winning contractor will also be responsible for maintaining the facility for a further 12 months.

    Companies that wish to submit bids need to do so through Iran’s Government Electronic Procurement System (Setad).

    Companies interested in participating in the tender have seven days from the publication of the tender notice to receive the documents.

    They then have a further 14 days to upload the required documents into the government procurement system.

    Iran exports most of its oil via the Kharg Oil Terminal on Kharg Island.

    US President Donald Trump said strikes in mid-March “obliterated” Kharg’s military assets but did not target the island’s oil infrastructure.

    He warned that if Iran continued disrupting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, he would reconsider the decision to spare energy targets on the island.

    Trump has threatened several times to take “control” of Kharg Island, but he has not yet followed through on this threat.

    The small coral island is located 33 kilometres from Iran’s coast and has strategic importance because Iran’s coastline is mostly too shallow for large tanker ships to dock.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17374518/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp