The Minister of International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, held a meeting with Andrew Deleone, President, Africa, Middle East & Central Asia (AMECA) region at Alstom, to explore cooperation opportunities and mainstream climate change considerations in transport infrastructure.
During the meeting, Alstom presented its vision and plans for the electrification of Egypt’s railways and supplying them with hydrogen as a source of alternative fuel. Localization of industry was also explored through unlocking future cooperation opportunities with the Arab Organization for Industrialization and the SEMAF factory to manufacture mobile units for the sixth metro line in Egypt.
To bolster technical cooperation and raise the capacity of local technicians, engineers and drivers, which is in line with the Ministry of Transport’s plan to upgrade the technical expertise of workers in Egypt.
Al-Mashat pointed out the importance of the transport sector, which comes among the national priorities with the aim of developing infrastructure, as it was among the sectors receiving the most funding from multilateral and bilateral development partners, and the development of the transport sector is reflected in the increased participation of the private sector in development efforts. Noting that the transport sector benefits greatly from official development aid and represents 25% of the total funds provided to the government of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The Minister noted that Egypt is integrating and mainstreaming its National Climate Change Strategy with the 2030 national agenda in order to reduce carbon emissions and create green job opportunities for the population.
For his part, Andrew Deleone, President, Africa, Middle East & Central Asia (AMECA) region at Alstom, noted that there is a promising market opportunity in Africa and the Middle East, and that the Government of Egypt has a clear strategic vision that stipulates the relevant policies that are required to meet national priorities, which facilitates the work of development partners to provide financing for targeted sectors.
By the end of July 2022, the financial proposal for the Sixth Metro Line project will be submitted, and which will be presented at the United Nations Climate Conference COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh this year.