Egypt, EIB Ink €1.128 Bln Deal to Improve Urban Transport

Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania Al-Mashat and Director Operations in Neighboring Countries Flavia Palanza, signed a development financing agreement worth €1.128 billion to support the rehabilitation of Abu Qir metro, Raml tram in Alexandria, and metro line 2 in Cairo to promote sustainable transport and inclusive urbanization.

The funding comes within a financing package worth €1.9 billion, which includes €800 million dedicated to strengthening the resilience of small and medium enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as €1.1 billion dedicated to supporting sustainable public transport and infrastructure development.

Al-Mashat underscored the importance of the strategic partnership between Egypt and the European Investment Bank in development cooperation, with investments worth €10.6 billion that systematically integrate the social, economic, and environmental aspects of development and align with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The projects will also be supported through the EIB’s Economic Resilience Initiative and the EU Neighbourhood Investment Programme (EU NIP), which provided grants for technical assistance and advisory support.

Recognizing the need for inclusive, multi-stakeholder approaches that consider the persity of development partners, Al-Mashat stated that the International Cooperation Ministry organized a multi-stakeholder platform in July to enhance coordination between the European Investment Bank, the Ministry of Transport, as well as the private sector to discuss financing priorities in sustainable transport.

Through embracing multilevel governance of the SDGs, which aligns global, national and subnational priorities, Al-Mashat added that the new agreement aims to achieve several targets, namely Goal 11 for Sustainable Cities and Communities, Goal 8 for Decent Work and Economic Growth, Goal 13 for Climate Action, and Goal 17 for Partnerships for the Goals.

“Understanding the value of transport infrastructure is at the heart of informed policy-making. Benefiting more than half a million passengers a day, we are not only reshaping Egypt’s economic geography but also meeting social and environmental targets to drive sustainable growth. We value our partnership with EIB that has been instrumental in pushing the frontiers of ESG standards that push international cooperation across various sectors to varying projects, including the private sector,” Al-Mashat noted.

Palanza said: “As European Unions’ Climate Bank, we give high priority to clean urban transport projects such as trams and metros. Today, we signed the €1.128 billion government agreement supporting this important goal for our joint cooperation. This large-size financing responds to the ambitious objectives of the Egyptian government to improve people’s life by building suite transport infrastructure and reducing CO2 emissions."

"The €600 million first tranche of the EIB support is signed today and we expect to sign the second tranche early next year. We are looking forward to implementing these key investment projects with our Egyptian partners and the other IFIs.”

For his part, European Union Ambassador to Egypt Christian Berger stated that the EU is committed to supporting green growth in Egypt in line with the spirit of the European Green Deal and that the Egyptian Government and the EIB have put great efforts into bringing green, affordable and safe transport to Egyptian citizens.

According to the annual report by the Ministry of International Cooperation in 2020, the ministry secured development financing agreements worth $9.8 billion during the year; $6.7 billion for financing sovereign projects, and $3.1 billion in support of the private sector.

This year, the ministry secured $1.794 billion in development financing to support sustainable transportation with development partners that include the EIB, AFD, EBRD, China, and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED).