El Gouna Launches ‘Green’ Transport Services

Fleet of hybrid vehicles starts operating March 1. By Kate Durham On March 1, the Red Sea resort town of El Gouna is launching an eco-friendly fleet of hybrid cars to provide a full suite of transport services operated by the newly created company Budget El Gouna. The fleet’s vehicles — which includes taxis, rental cars, limousines and shuttles — combine a petrol engine with an electric motor, and around El Gouna, the cars can run on electricity alone, thus reducing carbon emissions. Budget’s transport services, available to residents and visitors alike, will make it easier to get around the resort town, which sprawls over 10 kilometers of coastline interwoven with lagoons and islands. The transport can also be hired for trips outside El-Gouna. The initiative is a result of a partnership between El-Gouna’s mother company Orascom Development and Ezz Elarab Automotive Group, Budget Rent a Car’s (Budget) sole agent in Egypt. “We’re delighted to be partnering with Budget to provide premium transport services in El Gouna,”  Samih Sawiris, CEO and Chairman, Orascom Development said at the press conference about the new company. “Their services will enable residents to enjoy more of El Gouna while visitors will have the opportunity to discover all that El Gouna has to offer, using comfortable and convenient modes of transportation.” At the same conference, Hesham Ezz Elarab, President, Ezz Elarab Automotive Group of Companies said, “Our line of eco-friendly transport services will help and ensure that El Gouna soon becomes a sustainable city.  We look forward to a long standing and mutually beneficial partnership.”