EIB, Egypt sign three financing agreements worth €122.7 mln for transport, sanitation sectors

Egypt has signed three financing agreements totalling €122.7 million ($139.2 million) with the European Investment Bank (EIB), the country’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat announced on Tuesday.

The agreements were approved by the Egyptian parliament, Al-Mashat said in a statement.

The funds will be used to finance transportation and sanitation projects in Egypt, including the preparation of a feasibility study for renovating the second line of the Cairo Metro with €1.2 million to meet capacity requirements and extend its lifespan for further 25 years, the minister said.

Al-Mashat also added that the three agreements contribute to achieving three of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), including providing descent work, cities, and sustainable communities, industry, innovation and infrastructure.

According to the minister, the first agreement, worth €120 million euros, aims to expand and develop the western sewage treatment plant in Alexandria. The second is a supplementary study agreement to modernise the Tanta–Mansoura–Damietta railway through a grant worth €1.5 million. The third is a cooperation agreement for preparing a feasibility study for the rehabilitation of the second line of the Cairo metro through a grant of €1.2 million.

Al-Mashat praised Egypt’s strategic partnership with the EIB since 1979, which has resulted in implementing several projects in various sectors in the country, boosting economic and social development and creating job opportunities.

According to EIB data, transport sector has been at the centre of the bank’s work in Egypt since its first operation in the country in 1979, when it agreed to support maritime transport, energy generation, and investments by small and medium enterprises (SMEs).