Egypt is exploring a hydrogen-powered tram network for its New Administrative Capital, state media reported on Sunday, advancing another high-tech transport proposal for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s flagship project as households face persistent cost-of-living pressures.
Egypt's National Authority for Tunnels signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean manufacturer Hyundai Rotem on 7 October to examine a network comprising 44 tram trainsets along a route roughly spanning 28 kilometres.
The agreement remains at the feasibility stage, with the parties expected to assess how economically viable it is before deciding whether to proceed. The announcement did not disclose a project budget, financing arrangements or proposed passenger fares.
The trams would run on hydrogen fuel cells, avoiding the need for overhead electrical wires, according to Egyptian state-affiliated outlet Cairo24. Potential cooperation with Hyundai Rotem would extend beyond supplying vehicles to railway systems, operations and maintenance.
The proposal would bring another transport system to a city whose construction has been estimated to cost around $58 billion.
The development has become a focal point of scrutiny over Sisi’s infrastructure priorities and the economic consequences of large-scale construction projects. Analysts have argued that debt-fuelled, military-led megaprojects had contributed to Egypt’s economic troubles, challenging official claims that the new capital would not burden state finances.
The latest proposal comes as Egyptians continue to absorb the effects of successive price increases, even as the annual pace of inflation has eased slightly. Urban inflation stood at 13.9 percent in September, down from 14.5 percent in August, according to figures from the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics. Consumer prices nevertheless increased 1.3 percent compared with the previous month.
Transport prices were 24.3 percent higher than a year earlier, while housing and utility costs rose 35.2 percent, according to CAPMAS figures compiled by Trading Economics. The increases underline the pressure on household budgets beyond the headline inflation rate.
In its October 2026 poverty brief, the World Bank estimated that 33.5 percent of Egyptians lived below the national poverty line in 2021/22, the latest survey period for which an estimate was available. Its April 2026 economic outlook warned that the socioeconomic damage from the 2023–24 inflation surge persisted, with double-digit inflation continuing to constrain purchasing power.