AFRICA: Preliminary studies for the construction of a passenger and freight railway between Egypt and Sudan have been completed, Egypt’s Ministry of Transport has announced.
The first phase of the proposed line would run for 285 km from Aswan to Abu Simbel in Egypt, with the second phase continuing a further 80 km to the Sudanese railhead at Wadi Halfa.
The railway would replace the Lake Nasser ferry service between Aswan and Wadi Halfa. It is envisaged that the line could be used to export Egyptian products to Sudan and central Africa.
Egyptian Minister of Transport Kamel El-Wazir and Sudan’s acting Transport Minister Hisham Abu-Zaid discussed the project at a meeting on February 22, and a committee has been established to further develop the proposal. A deal was also agreed for four Sudanese locomotives to be repaired in Egypt.
