Leasing of Cairo 3rd metro line to RATP Group postponed

CAIRO – 4 August 2020: Sources at the Ministry of Transportation told Egypt Today that the operation of Cairo's third metro line will not be given to RATP Group in 2020, and that negotiations are still underway.

The sources revealed that there is a disagreement on the financial return the French company will receive as no consensus was reached on whether the firm will get a profit share or a fixed amount for operating, maintaining and managing the line.

It is noted that the second section of the fourth phase of the third metro line entered service mid-July. It extends from Nozha eastern Cairo to Ataba in central Cairo.

The construction of different sections of different phases is going in parallel. Hence, the sources speculated that no other company will be granted the right to operate the third metro line before the accomplishment of the first section of the third phase of the line. That section stretches from Ataba to Kikkat western Cairo through Zamalek Island by the end of 2021.  

The sources highlighted that the Cabinet approves in principle leasing the line to RATP Group for 15 years. Nonetheless, consent on certain details must be achieved, such as the ticket price in case the company gets a profit share. They added that the ministry aims to make the ticket pricing exclusive to it and never decided by leasing companies.

The sources asserted that the operation and administration of the first and second lines will remain in the hands of the ministry, and that the fourth metro line will be managed by another company and not RATP Group.  

The third metro line – consisting of 39 stations and stretching over 48 kilometers- is constructed by a coalition of Egyptian and French companies at LE90 billion in addition to LE7 billion allocated to the purchase of 34 trains to be operated on the line.  

The first and second phases finished in 2012 and 2014 included five and four stations, respectively. The third and fourth encompass 15 and 10 stations, respectively. The line is composed of 26 underground stations, five regular stations, and eight above the ground stations.

The fourth metro line aimed at connecting 6th of October City western Cairo to central and eastern Cairo consists of two phases. One encompasses 17 stations while the other has 20, according to the National Agency for Tunnels (NAT).