H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, received Lieutenant General Engineer Kamel Al-Wazir, Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport, at the ministry's headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, where two separate meetings were held to discuss the pillars of the investment plan for the transportation sector for the next fiscal year 2025/2026, in addition to following up the executive status of the Abu Qir metro project in Alexandria funded by development partners.
H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat emphasized that the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation is working on preparing the economic and social development plan for the next fiscal year 2025/2026, according to an integrated methodology, based on the main pillars starting from the objectives of Egypt Vision 2030, and integrated with the priorities of the government's work program and sectoral strategies and plans represented in the transport development strategy 2030, within the effective implementation of the National Program for Structural Reforms and the recent trends of the General Planning Law, and in support of the state's efforts to stimulate the role of the private sector in achieving economic development through the implementation of the State Ownership Policy Document.
H.E. pointed out that the transportation sector is one of the main sectors supporting sustainable development plans, as it contributes to meeting the needs of all economic activities, enhancing the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy at the regional and international levels, and also opens up new avenues for development that would increase urban development, establish new urban cities, and connect them with green and sustainable transport means, explaining that the transportation sector enhances efforts to achieve development across economic, social, and environmental dimensions.
H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat reviewed the investment plan for the transportation sector for the fiscal year 2024/2025 and the priorities of the investment plan for the upcoming fiscal year, which comes among the most important pillars of the transition towards a green economy and taking into account environmental sustainability as a major trend within the government's development efforts.
H.E. highlighted the ministry's commitment to green transformation in public investments, which includes the principle of achieving sustainability in Egypt’s Vision 2030 by integrating environmental standards and climate change measures into sectoral policies and strategies, increasing the share of green projects in the state's investment plan, supporting institutional development, building capacity and technical expertise in the field of climate change, and promoting private sector participation, in order to increase the percentage of green public investments to 55% by FY 2025/2026.
For his part, Lieutenant General Kamel Al-Wazir affirmed that the transportation sector has become one of the most important elements of development in the world, and is the main factor affecting economic and social growth, as all economic sectors depend on the infrastructure of various transportation systems, providing networks and connecting them, facilitating the movement of goods and increasing trade exchange, which helps economic development, as well as facilitating the movement of citizens in moving for all economic, commercial, tourism, educational, recreational, religious and medical purposes. He pointed to the significant attention given by the political leadership to the transport sector, which necessitates continuous development and expansion of transport plans through policy formulation, strategy development, and taking steps that contribute to the development of this vital sector that serves millions of citizens daily.
He also noted the achievements made in this sector during the leadership of H.E. President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in all transportation sectors, whether in the field of roads and bridges, railways, electric traction, land and dry ports, logistics zones, sea ports, river transport, as well as Egypt's expansion in establishing a network of environmentally friendly and sustainable green transportation means, expanding the establishment of dry ports and logistics zones and linking them to transportation means and establishing 7 integrated logistics corridors to help link production areas (industrial, agricultural and mining) to maritime ports or link the maritime ports on the Red Sea with those on the Mediterranean, serving new urban communities via a railway network (diesel/electric high-speed train) or the main road network through dry ports and logistics zones located on these corridors.
Moreover, the two ministers held a meeting in the presence of representatives of the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the French Development Agency, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the European Union in Cairo, and the leaders of the Ministries of Transport, Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation to follow up the executive status of the Alexandria Metro project, as well as discuss the future stages of the project, its feasibility studies and the latest developments related to the mobile units.
During the meeting, the executive status of the first phase of the project was reviewed, which extends over 21.7 km from Abu Qir Railway Station to Misr Station in Alexandria. This includes 6.5 km at ground level from Misr Station to just before Al-Zahriya Station, then 15.2 km elevated to Abu Qir Station, comprising 20 stations (6 ground-level and 14 elevated).
In this context, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat confirmed the ministry's keenness to coordinate with international development partners to meet the country's requirements and priorities and complete the Abu Qir metro project in Alexandria because of its great importance in developing the transportation system in the governorate and promoting its transition towards a green economy, especially since Alexandria is one of the governorates that comes within the Green Cities program being implemented in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development emphasized the importance of the project, which will represent a significant qualitative leap in the sustainable green mass transport system in Alexandria and will contribute to achieving the targeted rapid economic and social development for Alexandria Governorate, adding that the project aims to achieve the safe operation of the line, especially after eliminating the skids and many illegal crossings and intersections with traffic, as well as accommodate the increasing transportation traffic and the number of trips and contribute to reducing traffic congestion in Alexandria and reducing fuel consumption as the operation is based on energy.
He further stated that the project will contribute to increasing the maximum passenger capacity from 2,850 passengers/hour/way to 60,000 passengers/hour/way. The project will reduce the journey time from 50 minutes to 25 minutes, increase the operating speed from 25 km/h to 100 km/h, and achieve a shorter interchange time from 10 minutes to 2.5 minutes. The line also achieves the interchange of passenger transportation service with the Cairo/Alexandria railway line at Misr Station, the Cairo/Alexandria railway line and Raml tram at Sidi Gaber Station, the Raml tram at Victoria Station, and the Rashid railway line at Maamoura Station.