Skip to main content

EU and France sign metro line deal with Egypt

The European Union and France have signed a US$1.2 billion agreement with the Egyptian government to fund the construction of a new metro extension. The agreement, signed by the EU and the French Development Agency, fulfils nearly half of the French commitments allocated for Egypt during the Deauville summit in 2011 aimed at supporting the Arab Spring, the EU said. France has already provided financial and technical support for Cairo’s two existing metro lines built in the 1980s, which has helped ease Cair
September 24, 2012 Read time: 1 min
The European Union and France have signed a US$1.2 billion agreement with the Egyptian government to fund the construction of a new metro extension.  The agreement, signed by the EU and the French Development Agency, fulfils nearly half of the French commitments allocated for Egypt during the Deauville summit in 2011 aimed at supporting the Arab Spring, the EU said.

France has already provided financial and technical support for Cairo’s two existing metro lines built in the 1980s, which has helped ease Cairo’s notorious traffic congestion.

The third line – the first phase of which became operational in March – will carry up to 1.8 million passengers a day, the EU said.

International bids will be launched by the beginning of 2013, and the implementation of the project is expected to take eight years, it said.

Related Content

  • November 26, 2013
    US favours express buses are for intercity travel
    David Crawford records an upsurge in ground travel. Express buses are powering ahead of air and rail as the US’ most-favoured form of intercity travel and major operators are investing in passenger-attracting and retaining technologies. At the same time ‘kayak’-style price comparison websites are emerging to widen rider choice. Modelled on airline industry search engines that find cheap flight deals by comparing carriers’ offers, these new websites aim to fill the same gap for a ground-travel equivalent
  • December 3, 2018
    Public transit is weapon in US congestion war
    Public transit is a huge component of US transportation, insists Mary Scott Nabers, CEO of Strategic Partnerships – and infrastructure upgrades have the potential to create thousands of jobs When it comes to public transportation, the US lags far behind other countries. Governments in Europe, Asia and Canada invest heavily in public transportation because it is viewed as an essential public good. The US government, however, views public transit a little differently and funding has been inadequate for d
  • July 30, 2013
    Virginia presses ahead with tunnels upgrade despite tolls challenge
    David Crawford reviews current developments and legal/financial issues facing tunnel management in Virginia. This autumn the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in the US will defend its plan to introduce tolling on the Elizabeth River tunnels linking the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth in the State’s Hampton Roads area. The tolling, which is due to start from February 2014, will be examined by the State’s Supreme Court later this year. The anticipated toll income, along with loans and bonds, is
  • February 4, 2014
    EU funding kick-starts EETS studies
    The regional European Electronic Toll Services (EETS) initiative is about to be kick-started by over US$3 million of co-financing from the European Union TEN-T Program. A a series of studies aimed at deploying EETS on a cross-border regional scale, selected for funding under the 2012 TEN-T multi-annual programme, specifically cover the electronically tolled primary road network of seven member states: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, and Switzerland, which receives no EU suppor