Egypt’s Ministry of Transport and Thales have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the creation of an Egyptian Academy of Transport Science and Technology (EATST). The MoU, which was signed during the recent visit to Paris by Egypt’s Transport Minister, H.E Prof. Ibrahim El-Dimeery, builds on an initial partnership agreement signed between the Ministry of Transport and Thales in 2010.
Egypt has a pressing need to train local talent in various rail industry fields, in particular since the government has launched an ambitious plan to modernise the country’s urban and main line rail infrastructure.
Thales, via its corporate university, will carry out a feasibility study for the academy and propose academic and professional training programmes in the field of urban and main line rail. The academy, to be set up in the north of Cairo, will start this year with a batch of 200, which will eventually be scaled to 1,000 students and trainees.
Thales’ involvement in Egypt’s rail sector started in 2013, when the Group won the first contract under the country’s modernisation plan for the upgrade of the 208-km-long Cairo-Alexandria line. Thales is also the main supplier of ticketing and communication systems for the Cairo metro.
H.E Prof. Ibrahim El-Dimeery said: “This new joint initiative in the transport sector, and particularly in rail, will help us to develop the new generation of Egyptian engineers and managers, thereby serving the country’s strategic objectives. The partnership with Thales will allow the Egyptian Academy of Transport Science and Technology to deliver international-standard higher education for students and professionals.”