This is an initial contract for track work on the network, and both parties will negotiate a detailed agreement to determine exactly what work needs to be done.

Egypt's Ministry of Transport allocated ENR $US 850m for upgrades to the network for the 2014-15 financial year, although ENR estimates that it needs to spend around $US 10.5bn over the next few years to bring the network up to a satisfactory condition.

ENR awarded a €100m contract to Alstom in January to resignal the 240km Beni Suef – Asyut section of the Cairo – Luxor line.