Work on the national transport system continued at full throttle this year. A total of LE800 billion is being spent on a network that will include a light rail transit (LRT) and high-speed and monorail trains. Scheduled for completion in 2025, the overhaul will benefit citizens and investors as well as the environment.

Ninety per cent of Egyptians regularly use public transport, with the remaining 10 per cent using private cars and motorcycles, says Atef Suleiman, professor of road engineering at Ain Shams University.

According to data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics in November, there are 10.8 million licensed vehicles in Egypt, of which private cars account for 44.4 per cent of the total; motorcycles 32.4 per cent; public transport vehicles 11.9 per cent; taxis 3.5 per cent; tuk-tuks 2.25 per cent; buses 1.7 per cent; and trucks 0.9 per cent.

Upgrades to the road network are being fully integrated with other transport networks to optimise journeys between, and within, towns and cities. While updating and expanding Cairo’s Ring Road, for example, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lane was introduced, with fixed stations that connect areas on the outskirts of Cairo and Giza with the existing underground network and the soon to be completed monorail.

Monorail trains will operate at speeds similar to underground metro trains, servicing stations spaced at roughly 2km intervals. The LRT will be faster than the monorail, and connect Cairo’s satellite cities.

High-speed trains, capable of travelling at 230 km/h, are planned to link Ain Sokhna, the New Administrative Capital, 6 October City, Borg Al-Arab City, Alexandria, Alamein, and Marsa Matrouh, allowing passengers to travel from Ain Sokhna to Marsa Matrouh in three hours rather than seven hours in a private vehicle.

The majority of these new modes of transport, which can carry freight as well as passengers, will be powered by electricity generated from clean and renewable resources.

Hassan Mahdi, professor of roads at Ain Shams University, says that the government’s focus on the transport network since 2014 serves as the backbone of sustainable development projects and that nationwide urban development could not have taken place without a solid transportation network.

Agricultural development in the New Delta would not have been possible without fully integrating the transportation network, Mahdi said, adding that agricultural, industrial, and urban development all depend on transport systems being in place, and the development of those systems is creating business opportunities for hundreds of private- and public-sector companies.

The government is also working on the fourth phase of Line 3 of Cairo’s underground, up to Adli Mansour station in the east of Cairo where commuters will be able to join the LRT line extending from 10 Ramadan city to the New Administrative Capital, and, in conjunction with public and private companies, on 660 km of high speed train tracks linking Ain Sokhna with Marsa Matrouh. Besides transporting passengers, high-speed trains will carry cargo to and from Ain Sokhna, servicing industrial zones along the route.

Work is also progressing on demand-responsive transport (DRT), a form of shared transport — DRT can include taxis, buses or other vehicles — in which routes and timetables are determined according to demand. Electrically powered DRT is planned for Cairo’s Ring Road, replacing microbuses and eliminating the problem of random stops and unfixed ticket prices.

As a result of massive investment in clean power stations Egypt, which before 2014 faced regular power shortages, is now in a position to generate electricity in excess of domestic needs, allowing the operation of electric-powered trains and forms of transport that avoid harmful gas emissions.

Egypt’s solid transport network, argues Mahdi, is central to attracting investors who invariably evaluate the availability of the infrastructure necessary to transport goods to and from ports before making a final decision on whether or not to go ahead with any manufacturing project.

Transport, Mahdi adds, is the lifeline for development, a crucial component in developing new residential communities and agricultural and industrial complexes.

The government is not seeking to profit from transport projects but wants to provide services at a price that covers operation and maintenance costs and ensures their sustainability. Ticket prices will be set accordingly, but will also take into account the needs of the elderly, students, and people with special needs, says Mahdi.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 23 December, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly