Middle East & Africa News

Latest news and developments from Middle East and Africa region

• RATP Dev to manage and operate Salam City–Tenth of Ramadan electric rail, Egypt

  March 5, 2021
  Egypt’s Ministry of Transport and the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) have awarded a contract to RATP Dev for the management, operation, and maintenance of the Salam City–10th of Ramadan City Electric Train.

• Kenya Railways starts takeover of SGR operations from AfriStar, Kenya

  March 4, 2021
  The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) has started a gradual takeover of operations of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Africa Star Railway Operation Company (AfriStar), a subsidiary company of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).

• Construction contracts awarded for Casablanca Tramway, Morocco

  February 24, 2021
  Casa Tramway SA has awarded two contracts to Colas Rail for the construction of lines T3 and T4 of the Casablanca Tramway.

• Procurement process launched for Bahrain Metro Project [free access]

  February 22, 2021
  The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT) has launched a procurement process for the construction of the Bahrain Metro Project.

• New bus fleet deployed in Casablanca, Morocco

  February 15, 2021
  Casablanca’s Inter-Municipal Cooperation Establishment (ECI) and the Regional Council of Casablanca-Settat have deployed a total of 700 buses (450 new buses and 250 used buses).

• L&T Construction secures contract for Mauritius Metro

  February 12, 2021
  Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has secured a contract to extend the mainline corridor of the Mauritius Metro by 3.4 km.

• EAMCO and Brightskies sign protocol to develop electric bus model, Egypt

  February 4, 2021
  Engineering Automotive Manufacturing Co. (EAMCO) and El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company, and Egypt’s Brightskies have signed a cooperation protocol to develop an electric bus model.

• First electric sky pod network unveiled in Sharjah, UAE

  January 31, 2021
  Unitsky String Technologies of Belarus has unveiled the UAE’s first high-speed electric sky pod network in Sharjah. The 2-km (1.24-mile) suspended track has been constructed in the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park.

• Government of Egypt announces plans to start work on Alexandria Metro Phase I

  January 19, 2021
  The government of Egypt has announced that preliminary works, including update of the design, detailed studies, and tender documents, for Phase I of Alexandria’s metro line are expected to start by April 2021.

• Navya launches first autonomous shuttle service in Israel

  January 19, 2021
  France-based Navya has launched an autonomous shuttle service in Tel Aviv.

• MoU signed to develop HSR network in Egypt

  January 15, 2021
  The National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Germany-based Siemens Mobility and Egypt-based Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors to design, install, and commission the first high-speed rail (HSR) project in Egypt.

• MoU signed for rail line between Niger and Nigeria

  January 13, 2021
  An Africa-based subsidiary of MOTA-ENGIL has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Nigeria to develop a rail line connecting Kano, the second largest city in Nigeria, with Maradi, the second largest city in Niger.

• Transmashholding delivers 22 coaches to ENR, Egypt

  January 13, 2021
  Russia-based Transmashholding has delivered 22 passenger railway coaches to the Egyptian National Railways (ENR), thus bringing the total number of its railway carriages to 208.

• GCC’s first digital nol card launched in Dubai, UAE

  January 6, 2021
  Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), in collaboration with Huawei Consumer Business Group, has launched the first digital nol card in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

• NTSA selects companies to develop cashless ticketing system for PSVs in Kenya

  January 6, 2021
  Kenya’s National Safety and Transport Authority (NTSA) has selected 29 companies to develop a cashless ticketing system for public service vehicles (PSVs) in the country.

• Alstom conducts tests on Mostaganem Tramway Line T2, Algeria

  December 31, 2020
  France-based Alstom has conducted a test on a 2-km-long section of Line T2 of the Mostaganem Tramway network.

• Transmashholding delivers 13 railway coaches to ENR, Egypt

  December 29, 2020
  The Egyptian National Railways (ENR) has received 13 passenger railway coaches at the Port of Alexandria, bringing the total number of its railway carriages to 186.

• EIB to invest in rail systems in Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt

  December 29, 2020
  The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed an agreement with the Government of Egypt to provide EUR1.128 billion as support for the rehabilitation and expansion of the metro and tram networks in Alexandria and Cairo.

• Moovit and Pango launch MaaS app in Israel

  December 23, 2020
  Moovit has partnered with Pango to launch a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) solution in Israel.

• Ashok Leyland introduces two new bus models in Saudi Arabia

  December 18, 2020
  Ashok Leyland (ALL) introduced two new passenger bus models in Saudi Arabia.