Egypt and German Siemens company signed Jan. 14 a memorandum of understanding to build a high-speed electric railway network that connects Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea coast to New Alamein that lies on the Mediterranean Sea. 

According to a statement published on the Egytpian prime minister office’s Facebook page, the memorandum was signed by the Egyptian Ministry of Transport, represented by the National Authority for Tunnels and Siemens, in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

According to the statement, the project aims “to build a 360 billion Egyptian pound [$23 billion], 1,000-kilometer [621-mile] long high-speed electric train network in Egypt. The construction of the railway that connects Ain Sokhna to New Alamein, passing through the new administrative capital, would start immediately” and would include 15 stations to be completed within two years.

Following the signing ceremony, Minister of Transport Kamel al-Wazir said, “The agreement is the culmination of lenghty negotiations between President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the company's [Siemens] representatives. The two parties agreed to excellent conditions, with a different idea of operation than the old railway network based on the highest specifications in the world with no junctions or crossings, as is the case in the current railways.”