London, Dec. 6, 2019 (AltAfrica)-Egypt on Thursday received 10 new train locomotives from the United States to boost its public transport sector.

The locomotives were received by the country’s Minister for Transport Kamel Al-Wazir and are the first batch of a 110-locomotive agreement signed between the North African country and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the procurement of new locomotives and the maintenance of 81 railway tractors.

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Egypt online website, Ahram reports that the locomotives will help the Egyptian National Railways serve more people and also improve the quality of the sector’s service delivery.

“These are the first new locomotives to join the fleet of the Egyptian Railway Authority since 2009,” Al-Wazir noted.

The new locomotives are also expected to help decongest the country’s roads in addition to increasing the financial resources available to the national railway.

Al-Wazir pointed out that the funds used to purchase the first batch of locomotives were derived from the railway authority’s own resources from tickets, fines, railway assets, and advertisements  at a cost of $27.05 million. The total value of all 110 locomotives is expected to reach $602.05 million.

The Ministry of Transportation overhauled 217 train stations between 2014 and 2019, as well as 480.6 kilometers of railroads, the government indicated in a report submitted to the Parliament in November.

The report shows the government’s achievements between June 2018 and June 2019 as examined by 25 committees at the House of Representatives, including those of planning, education, health, workforce, religious affairs, industry, economy, agriculture, and housing. Each will prepare a report evaluating the government’s work and putting forward demands by November 20. The reports will be discussed by the plenary session in order to draft a final report.

The Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA) signed with PRL (Progress Rail Automotives) a number of contracts worth $466.3 million after meeting with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi last week.

The American company will supply 50 train engines over 22 months, will carry out long-term maintenance for 41 engines by June 30, and will upgrade 50 others within 30 months from the conclusion of the deal. The company will also provide maintenance services and spare parts for the 141 train engines for 15 years. The value of contracts will be secured through soft loans, except for $27 million that will be paid by ERA’s treasury.