Transport Minister Hisham Arafat launches drilling operations on phase III of the Cairo Metro’s heavily-commuted third line, which will extend more than 17 kilometers and comprise 15 stations, Invest-Gate reports.
In an inaugural ceremony on Wednesday, May 23, a number of ministers, led by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, arrived at the construction site of Cairo Metro Line III to launch the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) that will be used to dig the longest Metro line in Cairo, according to an Egypt’s Cabinet statement.
The new line will link the working-class districts of Attaba, Bulaq, and Imbaba with Cairo University in Giza, as well as, passing through well-off neighborhoods like Zamalek, Mohandessin, and Agouza.
Upon completion, it will carry about 9 mn passengers daily; and thus, “will contribute to easing traffic congestion in the streets of Greater Cairo,” Minister Arafat states.
The project is under execution by an Egyptian-French joint venture (JV) comprised of the French Vinci Construction Grand Projects, which holds a 28.5% stake in the consortium, Arab Contractors (27.5%), Bouygues (26%), and Egypt’s Orascom Construction Limited (18%).
Arafat highlights in his statement that the French Development Agency and the European Investment Bank financed about 60% of the project with nearly EUR 900 mn and the rest is funded from the state’s budget, referring to the total cost of Cairo Metro Line III, which amounts to almost EGP 96 bn.
In his speech, National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) Chairman Tareq Gamal el-Din says that the construction works of phase III will terminate and be inaugurated within six years.
