Work on the second phase of Cairo's third metro line began last week, reports Reem Leila The second phase of Greater Cairo's third metro line includes 40km of tunnels and involves the construction of four new stations -- Cairo Fairgrounds, the Stadium, Koliyat Al-Banat and Al-Ahram Street, Heliopolis, to be officially opened in October 2012. Phase one covered the area from Ataba to Abbasiya, with three new stations, Al-Geish, Abdu Basha and Abbasiya. The new stations will have contactless fare collection systems, with some stops offering commercial outlets. After the completion of line three the capacity of the metro system is expected to expand from 2.5 million passengers daily to 4.5 million. When the planned fourth line is finished, says Saad Shehata, head of the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT), the underground system will connect all of Greater Cairo's governorates, with line four extending to 6 October governorate and increasing daily capacity to five million. The second phase of line three will cost LE3.3 billion and serve an estimated 250,000 passengers daily, generating an annual income of LE3 billion. It will, says MP Hamdi El-Tahhan, head of People's Assembly Transportation Committee, streamline traffic in the areas it covers. "A good underground metro line is like a new lung. It will decrease traffic on the surface." Meanwhile, motorists can expect traffic to get worse before it gets better. Already traffic between Abbasiya and Heliopolis is bumper to bumper, as cars jostle with buzzing drills and huge cranes. The new line, linking the east and west of the capital, is being touted as one of the most important projects of the decade. In addition to solving traffic problems, says Shehata, it will cut the number of cars on the streets, saving gas and reducing air pollution. "Maintenance plans are being implemented across existing lines and will be fast-tracked once line three is finished to guarantee even better performance," he says. A press release issued by the Ministry of Transportation stressed that the third and fourth lines of Cairo's underground are an implementation of President Hosni Mubarak electoral programme which prioritised improvements in public transport. The French government, which financed the construction of Egypt's first metro line, has provided $280 million in loans to French companies involved in the current project. "Cooperation started more than 30 years ago, when the first line was launched, since when France has committed ê1 billion in loans to the metro project," says Shehata. Contracts for phase two worth $140 million have been signed with a consortium of firms led by Orascom Construction Industries (OCI). OCI will work with Vinci, Arab Contractors, Bouygues, Colas Rail of France, Alstom and the Thales Group, to implement the project. A separate $24 million contract was given to OCI and Eurovia Travaux Ferroviares for the construction of tracks. The original plan for Cairo's metro system, based on a transport systems survey completed in 1999, envisaged the construction of six lines by 2022 covering all of the city's most densely populated areas.
