CAIRO, May 23, 2018 - Prime Minister Sherif Ismail has confirmed that the government is keen on completing the construction of the underground Metro network, on which millions of citizens commute daily. The state is also working continuously on upgrading, developing and maintaining the existing lines to offer better services for the commuters. The Prime Minister was speaking at a ceremony held to launch bore holing operations on the third stage of the third underground Metro line from Ataba to Boulaq el-Dakrour. The prime minister said that completing the Metro projects would contribute to reducing traffic congestion on Cairo's roads and streets. The target is for the underground network to absorb around nine million commuters daily. The total amount invested in the third Metro line is LE96 billion, apart from the cost of operation and maintenance, to keep the service up to standard. The project is being co-financed by the French Agency for Development (AFD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the state budget. Sixty per cent of the funding estimated at 900 million euros is coming from the AFD and EIB while the remainder is coming from the statetreasury. "Metro projects are aimed at linking the various districts and new areas in a way that serves the goals of development," Prime Minister Ismail noted. During the ceremony, Ismail listened to a detailed explanation by Transport Minister Hisham Arafat, of the steps that were being taken to implement the project. Work at the Abdel Nasser station was completed to allow the giant bore holing machine to pass through it to start scooping operations from Ataba station. France's giant bore holing machine Nefertari, which was made in 2007, will go under the River Nile to Zamalek, then to Imbaba and Boulaq el- Dakrour. The third stage of the third line is divided into three parts. The first part is 4-kilometres long and covers four stations from Ataba, namely Nasser, Maspero, Zamalek and Kitkat. This part will be completed in 55 months. It will be operational in November 2021. The second part is 6.6 kilometres long and covers six stations from Sudan Street to Rod el-Farag. It will be opened in June 2022. The third part is 7.1 kilometres long and covers five stations from Tawfiqiya station to Cairo University station, intersecting with the second Metro line. It is due to be completed in 74 months. It will be open to the public in November 2022. Transport Minister Hisham Arafat said yesterday that the third Metro line, with its four phases, will be 48 kilometres long and will have 39 stations, making it the longest Metro line in the Middle East. The minister was speaking during the launch of the bore holing work on the third stage of the third Metro line. Minister Arafat said that the fourth Metro line contract would be signed in July. Arafat added that there were plans to establish six Metro lines to link Cairo, Giza and the New Administrative Capital by 2030. The minister noted that investments in the Greater Cairo Metro were equal to LE1.9 billion for the first line, LE9.7 billion for the second line, LE96 billion for the third line and LE53 billion for the fourth line. Minister Arafat said that the latest increase in the price of Metro tickets was aimed at covering the operational cost only and not the cost of investment. He noted that the cost of restoring and developing the first Metro line would be around LE30 billion. Minister Arafat said that an interchange railway station would be set up in Muneeb to serve Upper Egypt, and it would be linked to the second Metro line. The minister also said that studies were underway to give priority to the construction of the 6th Metro line (from Khosous to New Maadi) before the 5th line, to relieve the pressure on the highly-congested first Metro Line (Helwan-El-Marg). He added that studies were also being conducted to reduce the minimum time interval between trains on the first line, to two minutes instead of four. Minister Arafat noted that the third stage of the third Greater Cairo Metro Line would save the state LE2.0-2.2 billion as it would save fuel and reduce pollution. He said that the third stage would be a substitute for about 4,000 microbuses, 1,000 buses and 50,000 cars. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail has asked the head of the National Authority for Tunnels to cover the operation and maintenance costs of all the Metro lines, so as to avoid putting more burdens on the state's treasury. Ismail also said that citizens should be aware that the cost of constructing and maintaining the Metro lines could go up to LE140 billion by 2022.
