New plans introduced to President Mubarak might solve the country's exasperating traffic congestion, reports Reem Leila Congestion on Egypt's roads is a problem so pressing that the government's strategy now aims at upgrading and integrating all modes of transport in order to decrease traffic jams. With more than 20 million residents in Greater Cairo, along with the erection of new buildings and the increasing number of vehicles, the density of the capital does not allow for any further road construction or expansion. So, throughout the past two weeks, President Hosni Mubarak has been conducting a series of meetings with all the ministries and authorities concerned to find a swift solution to the endless traffic congestion on Cairo's streets and to reduce traffic around the capital. Projects suggesting alternatives to solving the riddle of road transport, such as introducing new metro lines, bridges, tunnels and transverse axes, are being discussed to reduce congestion and to alleviate traffic density in various parts of the capital. During the meetings, suggestions to transfer most of the government's ministries to the city's outskirts such as the Smart Village in 6 October and New Cairo have been explored. The overall cost of these plans which will be completed during the next four years is estimated at LE22.5 billion. More than five million vehicles are currently rolling on Greater Cairo's streets, thus needing a new traffic network. Hassan Mokhtar, deputy of the Cairo governor for the northern sector, said a new transverse axis is currently under construction to connect Rod Al-Farag Bridge with the western arch of the 26 July Corridor. "The new axis, which will cost LE2.5 million, will connect the cities lying in western Cairo to the new urban communities of 6 October governorate. A tunnel beneath Al-Fangari Bridge in Nasr City will also be constructed in order to sidestep any crossways which create traffic jams in the area," Mokhtar said. Another axis is to be added to the previous one to alleviate congestion from Cairo's streets. "There will be a road extending from Al-Qalaa Street to Joseph Tito Street in Al-Nozha district," stated Mokhtar. "This axis will guarantee the flow of vehicles, preventing drivers from driving all the way through the noisy and crowded road of Salah Salem." The remarkable number of bridges and flyovers which extend all over Cairo is definitely impressive especially when seen from airplanes. But the actual driving on Cairo's streets reveals a different fact, one of traffic mayhem and rush hour congestion that has no set hours or rules. But it seems that experts have finally found the magic solution. According to Tarek El-Attar, chairman of the General Authority for Roads, Bridges and Land Transport, there is a "very important project" which is about to conclude. The complex map shows that Saft Al-Laban Corridor links Cairo University in Giza and the Tharwat Bridge with the Ring Road. Saft Al-Laban and Tharwat Bridge extend to the western arch of the Ring Road, until Kerdassa then to the recently reconstructed Al-Remayah Square and the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road. "The project is expected to be completed within the next few weeks and should be inaugurated by the president before the beginning of July. The plan, which took 22 months to be completed, cost LE900 million," said El-Attar. Extending Ahmed Orabi Street in the Mohandessin district which lies at the intersection with Imbaba Airport, will also guarantee the direct flow of traffic into the Ring Road, El-Attar said. "This new extension will help increase the flow of traffic especially in the extremely congested streets of Ahmed Orabi and the Arab League. Cars meant to take the Ring Road will head directly to it via the bridge at the end of Ahmed Orabi Street. Also, those who want to go to Rod Al-Farag and Imbaba can take the right road at the new extension," explained El-Attar, who said there will be no need to pass through the Arab League Street to take the Ring Road. If it all works out, traffic will improve in this district by at least 30 per cent. The new plan comes in the middle of the Ministry of Transport's refurbishment programme which will end in 2014. A number of roads are in the planning and construction stages. The Cairo- Alexandria Highway aims to turn into a 231km long freeway. Another major project is the Mediterranean Coastal International Highway which runs 562km from Port Said to Marsa Matrouh along the northern coast of the Mediterranean. The two roads are estimated at LE546 million and LE269 million respectively. There is also the most ambitious project which involves the construction of the axis which connects Cairo-Ismailia desert road with Gisr Al-Suez in Heliopolis. This is in addition to another axis which extends from New Cairo to Ain Al-Sokhna desert road. El-Attar also pointed out that the Ministry of Planning is to construct a 400km road which will extend from Al-Sadat City to Dahshour in the south passing by Banha, Belbeis, 10 Ramadan City and Badr City, and connect them with the Ring Road. "Trucks and trailers will be mostly using these axes so there will be no more traffic jams at the western arch of the Ring Road," El-Attar said. Among the efforts to solve traffic jams on the 6 October Bridge a new extension is to be constructed from its extension over Ramses Street for those coming from Nasr City and Heliopolis, at a cost of LE25 million. This new extension will start within a few weeks and will last for two years. "The new extension will ease bottlenecks as was the case in the extension which was built in front of Al-Ahram building and Railway Club over Al-Galaa Street which was inaugurated in 2008," stated El-Attar. Salwa Azouz of the Ministry of Transport said that the remaining two large-scale highway projects are those connecting Shubra to Benha and Kafr Al-Zayat to Alexandria. The latter is intended to relieve congestion bound for Alexandria from the Delta region and will stretch for 110km at a cost estimated at LE273 million. The Shubra- Banha road, which is projected to accommodate 125,000 vehicles a day, is expected to cost about LE129 million. Azouz also pointed to the third phase of the underground metro which has been under construction since July 2007. It will extend for 34.2km from Imbaba in the west to Cairo International Airport in the east, and is expected to ultimately accommodate 4.5 million daily commuters. "This phase is expected to be completed within the next 18 months," stated Azouz. The third phase is part of a larger master plan for Cairo's metro system which calls for the construction of six lines by 2022. There is also a trend towards transferring some ministries out of the clustered population in Cairo to ease density. There is already a general tendency towards decreasing the crowdedness of traffic in Cairo. "This transfer is considered a mitigation of these densities, and therefore, all steps taken to transfer some of the activities found in the heart of Cairo to its suburbs will be applied," Azouz said. The selected ministries will be moved to the so-called New Business Centre to be located at the 6 October Smart Village. "Ministries concerned with finance, economy and investment might be moved to the Smart Village whereas ministries providing services to the public could be moved to the outskirts of Cairo and New Cairo," stated Azouz. According to Minister of Housing, Public Utilities and Urban Communities Ahmed El-Maghrabi, these projects are likely to relieve "40 per cent of Cairo's traffic", thus saving up an estimated LE140 million annually in time lost as a result of the traffic and petrol consumed." According to El-Maghrabi, the projects will solve the problem of traffic congestion until the year 2040. The government has already spent LE23 billion during the past four years on constructing bridges, digging tunnels, building flyovers, corridors and axes. "The overall cost of the projects dedicated to improving traffic in Egypt is LE45.5 billion," El-Maghrabi said.
