The EBRD finances the training of 80 young Egyptians in metro maintenance

EGYPT. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is working with Hyundai Rotem Company to train eighty unemployed young Egyptians in the maintenance of rolling stock on line II of the Cairo metro.

This project is part of the €100m financing granted by the EBRD to the South Korean subsidiary Hyundai Motor Group in 2016 for the purchase of trains, spare parts and maintenance equipment. This loan also included a promise of support from the bank for a training programme for young people. This is now taking place.

Comprising a theoretical part and practical training in the field, it "will enable trainees to acquire relevant skills and practical experience in equipment management," the EBRD said in a statement. The programme will be defined by Hyundai Rotem and its implementation entrusted to several international and local training organisations.

These unemployed young people will then be able to access jobs in labour-intensive sectors in Egypt such as the metro, the railways, but also public services.

At the end of April 2021, Hyundai Rotem signed a memorandum of understanding with the Egyptian Ministry of Transport, Planning and Economic Development and the National Egyptian Railway Industries Company (established in November 2020 - NERIC). The South Korean company will help the Egyptian government to build railway vehicles locally by transferring its technology. This will include metro and electric train cars, as well as signalling and communication systems such as command and control equipment.

Kamel al-Wazir, Egypt's Minister of Transport, plans to manufacture 25% of the metro and electric train cars locally within two years, 50% in four years and 75% within six years. In April 2021, Egypt ordered thirty-two air-conditioned trains from Hyundai for line 3 of the Cairo metro.