Egypt’s Minister of Transport, Kamel El-Wazir announced that his ministry plans to extend the railway network to Benghazi, eastern Libya.
El-Wazir added that the first line of the high-speed electric train network will be extended from the Egyptian city of Salloum, to Benghazi.
“We seek to link high-speed railways with neighbouring countries such as Sudan and Libya’s Benghazi,” he said on Tuesday, during his speech at the World High-Speed Rail Conference.
This year’s conference is organized by the International Union of Railways, in Marrakesh, Morocco.
According to Al-Ahram newspaper, El-Wazir noted that “Africa urgently needs to build about 18,000 km of railway lines by 2040 to cover the shortage it is facing in rail transport projects. This requires huge investments.”
In 2021, El-Wazir revealed a plan to create transport links between Egypt and nine African countries. He said that the plans include developing the road from Salloum to Benghazi, which would help support the local economy, and facilitate the transportation of goods to Libya.
El-Wazir explained that there is ongoing coordination with Chad, about whether to connect the route via Sudan or Libya, and further out to the Congo.
The minister said that the railway projects are witnessing a qualitative leap to develop the railway system in parallel with the establishment of the express electric train.
Head of the Libyan Contractors Union, Abdel-Majid Kosher has confirmed that Libya needs an estimated $450 billion US dollars for reconstruction over the upcoming five years.
Kosher said in a press statement to Masrawy news website, in 2021, that the reconstruction requires about three million workers. He noted that Egyptian workers are qualified enough to help improve the war-torn country.
“Egypt has expert workers, who are ready to reconstruct the country,” he said. As well as pointing out the many investment opportunities in infrastructure, railways, bridges, roads, housing, sanitation and oil.
Kosher called on Egyptian contracting companies to contribute to the reconstruction of Libya; due to the importance of Egypt’s role in providing the necessary manpower.
He expects Egyptian companies to have the “lion’s share” in reconstruction, and win contracts after making offers that outperform international companies seeking to exploit the opportunity, including Chinese and Turkish companies.