Egypt s Minister of Transport Kamel El-Wazir and French Ambassador to Cairo Marc Barety witness the launch of the pilot operation of the first part of the third phase of Cairo Metro s third line. Egyptian Cabinet
Pilot operations for the first part of phase three started in May without passengers.
This part, known as 3A, of the eco-friendly third metro line will be officially launched at the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), which Egypt will host on 6-18 November in Sharm El-Sheikh city, the ministry said.
The 3A section extends for four kilometres, passing through four stations — Gamal Abdel-Nasser in Downtown Cairo, Maspero, Safaa Hegazy in Zamalek, and Kit Kat in Imbaba.
Transport Minister Kamel El-Wazir, France’s Ambassador to Egypt Marc Baréty, and head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Egypt Christian Berger attended the launch of the pilot operation today.
The third line of the Cairo Metro is managed by the French transportation firm RTP Dev.
The third line of the metro is heavily funded by the EU. In July, the European Investment Bank said it funded the project with 600 million euros, making the project the largest backed by the EIB in Africa.
El-Wazir thanked the French government and companies for their fruitful cooperation in implementing the Cairo Metro projects and also hailed the support provided by the EU and European countries on Egypt’s transport projects.
The minister said that the launch of 3A signals the start of the completion of eco-friendly mega projects that run on electricity, including the light rail transit (LRT), the monorail, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and the fourth and sixth metro lines.
The third phase of the Cairo Metro’s third line, of which 3A is a part, covers 17.7 kilometres through 15 stations (eight tunnel stations, five elevated stations, and two at-grade stations).
Work is underway to complete 3B, which extends along 6.6 kms and links the Kit Kat area with Rod Al-Farag axis. 3B will be linked with the BRT, which is currently under construction and set to run through the 106-kilometre Ring Road.
As part of the country’s efforts to expand the use of sustainable green mass transit networks, Egypt seeks to complete the subway network in parallel with the implementation of new electric traction projects, such as the fast electric train network, LRT, and monorail projects.
The third line is meant to connect the Administrative Capital monorail at El-Estad Station in Nasr City and the 6 October City monorail at the Nile Valley station.
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