The third phase of the third underground metro line in Cairo which connects Ataba Square and Kitkat in Imbaba is set to be inaugurated in December of this year, said Minister of Transport Kamel El-Wazir on Wednesday. Egypt completed the construction of 49 percent of the third phase of the line which runs from Ataba Station in Downtown Cairo through Maspero then Zamalek before reaching the Kitkat area in Imbaba, El-Wazir explained. The first part of the line, extending for 17.7 km through 15 stations, is scheduled for operation in December 2021, he added. El-Wazir made the statement as he and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly witnessed the arrival of a major deep-drilling machine to Kitkat, the last station in the first part of the line. A 6.6 km extension from Kitkat to Rod Al-Farag Axis, with six stations, will be inaugurated in June 2022, while the final 7.1 km of the line from Kitkat to Cairo University, with five stations, will open in April 2023, said El-Wazir. The transport minister added that the estimated cost of the third phase of the metro line is EGP 40.7 billion and the total cost of the third line stands at EGP 97 billion. The three-storey Kitkat station is being built over 3,800 square metres, 23 metres deep, stated El-Wazir, adding that Kitkat is an important station because it will link El-Nil and El-Sudan streets through Kitkat Square, after which the route will split north to the Rod Al-Farag Corridor and south to the Cairo University station. According to the transport minister, the third line will connect Greater Cairo with 6 October city, the New Administrative Capital, and the east Cairo cities of Shorouk, Obour, and Mostaqbal. The third line of the Greater Cairo Metro project is targeted to become the link between the Helwan-Marg underground line, constructed in 1987, the line between Shubra and Cairo University, and the interchange station of Adli Mansour, explained El-Wazir. The third line is also meant to connect the Administrative Capital monorail at El-Estad station in Nasr City and the 6 October monorail at the Nile Valley station, added El-Wazir. He stated that the government is moving ahead with its plans to expand Egypt's transportation network despite the harsh global conditions imposed by the coronavirus.
