NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

World Bank approved a US$400 million development financing agreement to enhance the performance of the logistics and transportation sectors in Egypt and to support the shift towards low-carbon transportation along the Alexandria–the 6th of October–Greater Cairo Area (GCA) railway corridor.

Egypt’s rail system is one of the most extensive in Africa, with a generally heavier focus on its passenger services, and three freight trains per direction per day in the GCA with the rest dedicated to passenger trains.

The Cairo Alexandria Trade Logistics Development Project will implement a railway bypass to the congested GCA. The bypass will provide freight trains between the Alexandria Sea Port and the newly constructed 6th of October Dry Port, with an alternative route to the west of Greater Cairo. The operational bypass will also allow 15 container trains per day by 2030, and as demand increases, 50 trains by 2060 to this dry port. Additional freight trains will flow between the Alexandria Port, Upper Egypt, and the Red Sea.

Photo courtesy of Hossam el-Ham alawy.