China Eximbank provides RMB 4.604 billion government concessional loan for Cairo to 10th of Ramadan Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project (Linked to Project ID#58094 and #64740)

On April 2, 2014, AVIC International signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Egyptian Ministry of Communications on the Cairo to 10th of Ramadan Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project. Then, on August 15, 2017, Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract worth $1.239 billion with a consortium consisting of AVIC International and China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, a subsidiary of China Railway Group. Then, on November 5, 2017, at the “BRICS Summit” in Xiamen, China, the Egyptian Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation and China’s Ministry of Commerce signed a MoU on the implementation of the Cairo to 10th of Ramadan Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project. On September 1, 2018, two agreements were signed by the Chinese Government and the Egyptian Government in support of the Cairo to 10th of Ramadan Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project: an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), authorizing the provision of an RMB 350 million (approximately $51 million) interest-free loan from China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM); and a government concessional loan (GCL) from China Eximbank worth RMB 4.604 billion (approximately $674 million). Then, on January 15, 2019, the Egyptian House of Representatives passed two government resolutions [Resolution No. 497 (2018) and Resolution No. 496 (2018)], approving the RMB 350 million interest-free loan from MOFCOM and the RMB 4.604 billion loan from China Eximbank. Multiple sources refer to these two loans (collectively worth an estimated $739 million) as providing the ‘first tranche’ of funding for the Cairo to 10th of Ramadan Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project. The MOFCOM loan was issued to Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels (埃及国家隧道局) and it appears to carry the following terms: a 20 year maturity, a 10 year grace period, and a 0% interest rate. The Government of Egypt issued a sovereign guarantee in support of this loan. The China Eximbank loan was also issued to Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels and it appears to carry the following terms: a 20 year maturity, a 5 year grace period, and a 1.8% interest rate. It too benefited from a sovereign guarantee. Then, on January 16, 2019, China Eximbank and Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels signed another loan agreement for the Cairo to 10th of Ramadan Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project, which reportedly carried the following borrowing terms: a 20 year maturity, a 2 year grace period, and a 2% interest rate. This loan also benefited from a sovereign guarantee. Some sources identify the face value of this loan as $1.239 billion (covering both the first and second tranches of funding), while others refer to the face value of the loan as $461 million (covering only the second tranche of funding). For the time being, AidData assumes that the first tranche of funding was officially committed on September 1, 2018 and the second tranche of funding was officially committed on January 16, 2019. The RMB 350 million loan is captured via Project ID#64740. The RMB 4.604 billion loan is captured via Project ID#52700. The $461 million loan is captured via Project ID#58094. The borrower was expected to use the proceeds of these loans to finance the $1.239 billion commercial (EPC) contract between Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels (NAT), AVIC International, and China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, which was signed on August 15, 2017. The purpose of the project is to build a Light Rail Transit (LRT) network that extends from El Salam to New Administrative Capital to 10 Ramadan City. The electric light railway will extend 67.8 km (42 miles) from 10th of Ramadan City to Egypt’s New Administrative Capital with 11 stops/stations (in the cities of Salam, Obour, Shorouk, Mostaqbal, Robeiky, and the New Administrative Capital). 61 km of the lines will be above ground, 0.7 km below ground, and 6.1 km will be elevated. Some 7.5 kilometers will be in the form of a bridge, while 0.3 kilometers will be in the form of a tunnel. The speed of the trains will be 120 km/h. The trains will be equipped with non-internal-combustion diesel engines. The line will start from Adly Mansour Station that is reached by the third metro line, and at Robeiky will be divided into two branches. One will head north in parallel to the Regional Ring Road to the 10th of Ramadan City and the other will head South to the New Administrative Capital. The line will be operated within two years, and will be executed by five Egyptian companies along with the railroads and the fence. The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) will accomplish the signaling, communication, control, and electricity systems afterwards. It will also manufacture and supply 22 trains. In the second phase, the line will extend to the Sports City near Al-Ain Al-Sokhna so that its length will be 93 kilometers. The project is intended to reduce the travel time between the 10th of Ramadan City to the New Administrative Capital by about 30%. The realization of the Electric Light Railway Project is expected to reduce traffic, principally on Ismailia highway. Additionally, the project is expected to stimulate Egypt’s construction industry, providing jobs to many. AVIC International and China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group are the general contractors responsible for implementation. Their subcontractors include: (1) a joint venture between TSO and Orascom Construction (for track laying and the construction of 11 stations); (2) Arab Contractors (for construction of Adly Mansour, New Heliopolis and Robaikey stations); (3) Hassan Allam Holding (for construction of the New Government Capital and New Administrative Capital stations); (4) Concord (for construction of Badr and Shorouk stations); (5) Petrojet (for construction of Abour and Future stations); (6) The Holding Co. for Roads, Bridges and Land Transportation Projects (for construction of Industrial Park and Ramadan 1 stations); (7) CRRC Qingdao Sifang (for supply of rolling stock); (8) Consortium of CASCO and China Huaxin (for signaling and communication system); and (9) Siveco China [for supply of Maintenance Management System (MMS)]. In January 2019, China Eximbank reportedly agreed to disburse a $105 million tranche within a month to facilitate the commencement of civil works. The project was originally expected to begin implementation on January 20, 2019. However, civil works did not commence until May 2019. On October 30, 2020, Egypt’s Transport Minister Kamal El-Wazir conducted an inspection tour of the project. At that time, the project had achieved a 63% completion rate. Bridges were 47% complete, tunnels were 86% complete, and the maintenance workshop was 63% complete. Then, on March 18, 2021, Shenzhen Metro and AVIC International signed a comprehensive joint commissioning service contract for the Cairo to 10th of Ramadan Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project. The first of 22 trains (manufactured by CRRC Qingdao Sifang) left a port in Shandong in July 2021 and arrived in Egypt on September 7, 2021. As of November 2021, 6 trains had arrived and 95% of construction activities were complete. According to the Egyptian State Information Service, as of May 9, 2022, all 22 trains acquired as part of the project had been received by the Egyptian Ministry of Transportation and they were undergoing testing, with the National Authority for Tunnels confirming that the train line was being 'operated experimentally' as of June 5, 2022.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the 10th of Ramadan Railway Project, the Suburban Railway Project of Tenth of Ramadan City, Egypt Ramadan City Railway Project, the Egyptian Electric Railway Project, the Light Railway Project, and the 10 Ramadan-Salam Train Project. The Chinese project title is 埃及“斋月十日城”市郊铁路项目 or 埃及斋月十日城铁路项目 or 中埃铁路项目. The Arabic project title is مشروع القطار الكهربائى السلام ـ العاصمة الإدارية 2. The borrower may have been authorized to use the proceeds of the loans to finance a rolling stock (vehicle supply) contract that was issued to CRRC Qingdao Sifang on December 3, 2018, an automation and controls contract (or Communication and Signaling System Procurement and Maintenance Framework Contract) that was issued to China Huaxin Post and Telecom Technologies (Huaxin) on August 23, 2019, and an operation and supervision service contract that AVIC International, China Railway Group and Shenzhen Metro signed on December 6, 2019. This issue merits further investigation. 3. MOFCOM is the lending institution responsible for the provision of the RMB 350 million interest-free loan but the proceeds of the loan were disbursed through a China Development Bank (CDB) account that was established with a host country bank. 4. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020, two China Eximbank loans for the Cairo to 10th of Ramadan Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project are recorded, but not the RMB 350 million interest-free loan from MOFCOM. 5. One official source https://moic.gov.eg/project/242 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/2jq619u2i5g6xae/Ministry%20of%20International%20Cooperation%20-%20Electric%20Train%2010%20of%20Ramadan%20project%20to%20Administrative%20Capital.pdf?dl=0) suggests that the face value of the China Eximbank GCL was RMB 4,954,000,000. This issue warrants further investigation.

Number of official sources

7

Number of total sources

19