Gov’t to upgrade first line of Cairo’s metro

CAIRO – 28 October 2017: As per the Prime Minister’s directions to raise the efficiency of the first line of Cairo’s Metro, Transport Minister Hisham Arafat said Saturday that the government will develop the first line at a cost of €360 million.

He added that another phase of developing the metro will include the purchase of 32 air-conditioned wagons, in addition to executing the third and fourth metro lines.

Egypt is seeking to cooperate with France to resume the construction of Cairo Metro Line 3, Arafat said on the sidelines of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's visit to France last week.

The third line connects Attaba in east-central Cairo with Abbasiya and Heliopolis. It will extend from the northwest of the Greater Cairo area at Imbaba district to the northeast, serving Cairo International Airport.

Arafat said that Egypt is negotiating with France to finance the next phase of the third line.

Last week, Egypt and France has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the public transport sector.