Ashraf AboArafe
Korean Ambassador to Egypt Kim Young-hyun visited Luxor Governorate in Upper Egypt on December 18 to discuss possible ways of cooperation between Korea and Luxor Governorate.
During the meeting with Governor Mustafa Elham, Ambassador Kim said that he is happy that many cooperation projects between Korea and Egypt are underway in Luxor, and that he will support the successful implementation of these projects.
The ambassador also suggested strengthening cooperation between Korea and Luxor in the field of culture, saying that the Korean Cultural Center in Cairo intends to increase its activities in Luxor.
The Governor of Luxor said that Luxor appreciates the support of the Korean government in many projects and expects more cooperation and investment from Korea.
On the occasion of his visit to Luxor, Ambassador Kim visited the sites of cooperation projects between Korea and Egypt in Luxor.
He visited Abnoud train station, which is one of 14 train stations where the Korean company Hyundai Rotem, in cooperation with the Egyptian company Orascom, is implementing a project to modernize the railway signaling system.
The Hyundai Rotem project – worth $110 million – will modernize railway signals on the 118 km Naga Hammadi-Luxor section in the upper Nile River, and provide a signaling system such as automatic train protection devices that control the speed of the next train based on the location of the running train, and an electronic system. Synaptic controls the train’s path using computers.
Ambassador Kim said that the project will greatly enhance the safety of the Egyptian railway system, and expressed his hope that more Korean companies will participate in infrastructure projects in Egypt.
Engineer Magdy Abdel Monsef, Vice Chairman of the Project Management Board of the Egyptian National Railway Authority, joined the ambassador’s visit to the site.
Ambassador Kim also visited the Ramesseum Temple in Luxor, the funerary temple of Pharaoh Ramses II, where the Korean National University for Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Korea and the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt will conduct a restoration project for the edifice.
The Luxor Heritage Project is funded by the Cultural Heritage Administration of the Republic of Korea, with a budget of US$7,700,000 from 2023 to 2027 (5 years). The main activities are the restoration of the Ramesseum, a digital exhibition for the Luxor Museum, and capacity building programmes.
