Egypt signs $575 million agreement with GE for 100 locomotives

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt signed a $575 million agreement with General Electric Co (GE.N) on Saturday for GE to provide 100 new multi-use locomotives, 15 years of technical support and spare parts, and maintenance and upgrades of 81 trains, the government said.

Transport Minister Hisham Arafat said in a government statement the first shipment of 25 locomotives would arrive in 2018 as part of a plan to have 25 million tonnes of goods transported via railway by 2022.

The agreement also includes GE carrying out maintenance and upgrades on 81 trains the Egyptian National Railways bought in 2008, and training Egyptian engineers.

(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; editing by Andrew Roche)