Cairo: Egypt is moving forward with the second phase of the Lake Victoria-Mediterranean (VIC-MED) corridor project, backed by a $2 million grant from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and an additional $100,000 contribution from the Egyptian government, the Ministry of Transport announced Thursday 30/10/2025.

According to State Information Service Egypt, the announcement came as Industrial Development and Transport Minister Kamel El-Wazir represented President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Luanda Summit on Financing Infrastructure Development in Africa, during the Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative (PICI) roundtable.

El-Wazir said the funding will support the main operational unit in Cairo, which began work in June 2025, and finance environmental, social, and technical studies along the Nile River. He emphasized that the VIC-MED project is central to achieving the African Union's Agenda 2063, as it aims to strengthen regional trade, expand market access, and generate new employment opportunities.

The Minister noted that the first phase, completed in July 2019 with $650,000 in AfDB funding, developed the project's legal and institutional framework and launched two regional inland water transport programs. The second phase, valued at $11.7 million, will build on these foundations through updated feasibility studies and expanded technical assessments.

Egypt, El-Wazir said, has actively promoted the project across multiple forums-including the Cairo Water Week, COMESA meetings, and the Dakar Infrastructure Financing Summit-resulting in the project's inclusion on the African Union Development Agency (NEPAD) list of priority programs. As Chair of the AUDA-NEPAD Steering Committee of Heads of State and Government, El-Wazir reaffirmed Egypt's commitment to bridging Africa's infrastructure financing gap, accelerating implementation of green corridors, and supporting energy and agricultural development under Agenda 2063's Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan.