The now former head of the Egyptian army's Engineering Authority Kamel El-Wazir was sworn in on Monday as Egypt's new minister of transport.

El-Wazir was recently appointed as the new transport minister after his predecessor Hisham Arafat resigned following a fatal train crash and blaze in a central Cairo railway station, which killed 22 people; one of the country's deadliest railway accidents in recent years.

In an official statement, Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said that El-Wazir was sworn into office by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who instructed the new minister to exert the utmost effort to develop the country's ailing railway system.

El-Sisi also accentuated the importance of improving safety standards, utilising advanced technologies, and continuing to revamp the national railway grid under a specified timeframe.

The swearing in comes one day after parliament approved El-Wazir as the new transport minister.

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