EGYPT – A consortium led by Bombardier, a manufacturer of business jets, public transport vehicles, and trains, has confirmed a deal with the Egyptian government to build two new monorails.
This is thanks to a £1.7 billion (US$2.33bn) backing from UK Export Finance (UKEF), the largest amount of financing ever provided for an overseas infrastructure project.
Bombardier will use the funds to invest in its factory in Derby after winning a €2.4 billion (US$3.29bn) contract. The government guarantee will support highly skilled jobs in Derbyshire.
Bombardier’s consortium was named preferred bidder for the project at the 2020 UK-Africa Investment Summit and, with UKEF’s guarantee, has secured the financing needed to fulfil the contract and start production. Bombardier can now invest in its manufacturing center in Derby where the trains for the Egyptian monorails will be designed and built.
This will be the UK’s only monorail car production line and will directly support 100 UK jobs at the company and many more in its UK supply chain.
“The Cairo Monorail export win, against international competition, shows that that the UK rail sector can fight and win in key growth markets such as sustainable transport,” Matt Byrne, president of Bombardier Transportation (UK and Ireland), said.
“This is the first UK export since our Derby-built trains were exported to South Africa for the Gautrain project in 2008. Thanks to UKEF’s support and those working in Embassies across North Africa, this new deal will bring sustainable benefits to Egypt and create job opportunities in the UK.”
Bombardier employs 4,000 people in the UK, with around 2,000 in Derby including over 400 specialized engineers, who develop and build trains for rail franchises across Britain. This expertise will be used to build and maintain two electrified monorails that together will transport millions of people every year in the Cairo metropolitan area.
The monorails are a part of Egypt’s plans to build a sustainable transportation infrastructure that can cope with its growing population while reducing climate change impacts.
Bombardier also sees additional opportunities to increase its exports of UK built trains using its new production line as global demand for fast, sustainable public transportation solutions increases.
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