THE Multilateral Cooperation Centre for Development Finance (MCDF) has approved grants totalling $US1.79m to support rail and metro projects in Algeria, Egypt and Kazakhstan.

In Algeria, MCDF is providing a $US 630,000 grant to support the first phase of the Trans-Saharan Railway. This 495km line will link Laghouat, Ghardaïa, and El Meniaa in central Algeria as the first stage of a project to build a new line to Tamanrasset in southern Algeria and on to the border with Niger.

Tenders worth more than $US 2.6bn for construction of the new line along with procurement of rolling stock and other works were issued earlier this year by Algeria’s National Railway Investment Design and Implementation Supervision Agency (Anesrif) and the government hopes to start construction by the end of September.

The African Development Bank is providing a $US 870m to partly finance the project. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is considering providing another $US 700m.

In Egypt, MCDF will provide a grant of $US 420,000 for the Alexandria - Abu Qir metro project, which has been under construction since 2023. The scheme involves building a 21.7km line following the alignment of a former suburban line connecting Alexandria Misr, the city’s main station, with Abou Qir in Alexandria’s port area. The metro will have a 6.5km surface section from Misr station to just before Al-Zahiriya, then a 15.2km elevated section to Abou Qir, with 20 stations.

The project is being funded by AIIB, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, and the French Development Agency, and is being implemented by Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels.

In Kazakhstan, a $US 735,000 grant will support the construction of a 139.5km railway between Darbaza and Maktaaral in the south of the country. The new line will ease pressure on the existing Saryagash - Tashkent line by providing an additional border crossing with Uzbekistan.

MCDF is an intergovernmental organisation tasked with facilitating better collaboration between international financial institutions, governments and other partners on international infrastructure and related projects. It is hosted by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing, China, but is independent from it.

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