Egypt-based contractor Orascom Construction and its consortium partners Siemens Mobility and The Arab Contractors have signed a contract with the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) to expand the network of Egypt’s new high-speed rail system to 2,000 kilometres.
The consortium had signed the first phase of the network covering a 660km line in September 2021. The second phase, signed on Sunday, comprises two new lines for a total length of 1,325km. This brings the total network size to almost 2,000km and creates the sixth-largest high-speed rail system worldwide, Orascom Construction said in a statement.
Orascom Construction’s share of the second phase is $1.2 billion, which brings the company’s total share of all three lines to $1.8bn.
Siemens Mobility’s share of the combined contract is €8.1bn ($8.7bn), the German transport company said in a separate statement.
The project is set to elevate Egypt’s entire infrastructure, industrial and tourism sectors, said Osama Bishai, chief executive of Orascom Construction. “Our involvement in this landmark project reaffirms our position as a leading partner of choice not only on transportation projects, but also on mega projects as a whole.”
The Arab world’s most populous country has undertaken the high-speed rail project as part of wider plans to upgrade its overcrowded transport network, protect the environment, create jobs, and develop its economy.
Egypt’s high-speed rail system, which will serve passengers and freight, will connect cities, seaports, dry ports, archaeological sites and tourist destinations all over the country. It will also enable the development of multiple sectors across the whole economy.
The consortium will design, install, commission and maintain the high-speed rail system for 15 years.
The total network will consist of three lines. The first line, covering 660km, will connect Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea to Alamein City and Marsa Matrouh on the Mediterranean. The second line will stretch across 1,110km and run between Greater Cairo and Abu Simbel near the southern border, passing through Luxor and Aswan. The third line will cover about 215km through Luxor, Safaga and Hurghada by the Red Sea, Orascom Construction said.
The 2,000km network will connect 60 cities throughout the country, with trains that can operate at up to 230km per hour. This will result in approximately 90 per cent of Egyptians having access to the integrated rail system, Siemens said.
“It is the biggest order in the history of Siemens,” said Roland Busch, president and chief executive of Siemens. “The opportunity to provide Egypt with a modern, safe and affordable transportation system that will transform the everyday [experience] for millions of Egyptians, create thousands of local jobs and reduce CO2 emissions in transport, is an honour for us.”
The consortium is expected to directly create more than 40,000 jobs in Egypt, with an additional 6,700 at Egyptian suppliers and indirectly through the wider Egyptian economy, the two companies said. The result will be a sustainable and efficient transportation system that cuts carbon emissions by 70 per cent.
The contract signing was witnessed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Essam Waly, chairman of NAT, German Ambassador Frank Hartmann and Siemens Mobility chief executive Michael Peter.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Operation Mincemeat'
Director: John Madden
Cast: Colin Firth, Matthew Macfayden, Kelly Macdonald and Penelope Wilton
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Leicester City 1
Vardy 58'
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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The biog
Name: Mariam Ketait
Emirate: Dubai
Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language
Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown
Favourite activity: Connecting with different cultures
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Indika
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The 10 Questions
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