Egypt has signed Thursday a second €200 million tranche of the €200 million loan with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the third phase of Cairo's metro third line. The financing plan of the project includes a €300 million from the French Development Agency (AFD) in addition to €44 million grant from the European Union, said the Egyptian transportation minister Saad El-Gioushy. The objectives of the third phase of Greater Cairo underground third line project are to contribute to economic growth by reducing urban congestion, thus, increasing labour productivity; to improve the livelihoods of Cairo's socially disadvantaged population by enhancing their mobility, thus, access to education, jobs and other services; and to mitigate climate change and pollution by providing more environmentally sustainable means of urban transport. The Egyptian minister further said the third phase of Cairo's third underground line would be 17.7 kilometres in length and includes 15 stations. Cairo Metro third line is set to be the main line of the Cairo Metro mass transit system in Greater Cairo. Once fully completed, the third line is expected to run from Cairo airport to Cairo University, passing through downtown Cairo and the densely populated, working class district of Imbaba. Currently, the line connects Attaba in east-central Cairo with Abbasia and Heliopolis to the northeast. The line will eventually extend from the northwest of the Greater Cairo area at Imbaba to the northeast serving Cairo International Airport.
