Egypt plans to construct two additional metro lines in order to connect Cairo, Giza and the country’s new administrative capital by 2030, bringing the total number of lines to six, the country's transport minister announced on Wednesday.

In press statements during a ceremony inaugurating the start of drilling operations for the metro’s third phase of line three, Transport Minister Hisham Arafat announced the plan to connect Cairo's heavily populated areas with the new capital.

According to the minister, the investment value of the system was EGP 1.9 billion for the oldest first line, EGP 9.7 billion for the second line, and EGP 96 billion for the third line and EGP 53 billion for the fourth line.

The Cairo metro, which operates throughout the capital city and surrounding areas and runs both above and below ground at a top speed of 80 kilometres an hour, is one of the area's fastest means of transportation.

First launched in 1987, the metro accomodates more than four million passengers per day.