Egypt's railway authority to borrow $494mln to fund projects: Report
State-owned Egyptian Railways Authority plans to borrow nearly 25 billion Egyptian pounds ($493.60 million) from a consortium of local banks to fund a package of projects and finalise ongoing ones, according to a news report.
The loan will be guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance, Ashraq Business reported, citing unnamed sources.
The funds will be used to develop and renovate train tracks and complete the development of operating systems on the main tracks linking the governorates of Upper and Lower Egypt. Additionally, funds would be used to renew maintenance contracts with foreign companies for rolling stock and locomotives.
Egypt's railway network extends 9,570 km, serving 23 governorates and transporting 420 million citizens annually.
(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)
(anoop.menon@lseg.com)
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