EIB, AFD to sign €300 mln loan for Egypt rail project this quarter: sources

Egypt is expected to sign a €300 million ($342.7 million) loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the French Development Agency (AFD) within this quarter to finance the Tanta-El Mansoura-Damietta railway line upgrade project.

In December, the boards of the EU bank and the AFD approved the loan.

The loan will be repaid over 15 years at interest rates as low as 1 percent, with a grace period of four years, sources with knowledge of the loan talks told Amwal Al Ghad on Wednesday.

The project consists of upgrading of the 118 km Tanta-El Mansoura-Damietta railway line, including the doubling of the section El Mansoura-Damietta of 65 km, the re-signaling of the whole line, the sources added.