A few days ago, Egypt and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) signed a deal to start implementing the Cairo Metro Line 1 renovation project.
The signing ceremony was attended by Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, the French Minister of transport, Gen Kamel Al Wazeir, the Egyptian Minister of transport, Eng. Essam Wally, Chairman of the Egyptian National Authority for Tunnels, and Stephane Romatet, the Ambassador of France in Egypt.
With a total loan amount of EUR 50 Million from AFD, the project aims to renovate and modernize the systems and equipment of the first line of Cairo’s metro line—Egypt’s capital’s backbone and north-south axis—in order to restore security conditions, improve the line capacity and performance and enhance the quality of the service to Egyptian citizens.
The project is co-financed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The Egyptian Government has placed, among its priorities, the strengthening and extension of the network of urban transportation in Cairo, in connection with a strong existing and future mobility demand.
As new Metro lines are under construction, the First Line is aging. In service since 1987 and covering a distance of 44 kilometers long, the first line is the most heavily used passenger mode in the Metro line Network (between 1.4 and 2 million passengers per day), and it is a key infrastructure for transportation in Cairo.
On his part, the French ambassador said, “Thanks to the signing of Cairo Metro Line 1 project in Egypt, France reaffirms its leadership and full support to the Egyptian authorities to improve the efficiency of urban transports systems in major agglomerations, ultimately fostering social inclusiveness, productivity growth, and quality of life in a sustainable way for the Egyptian citizens.”
AFD Country Director for Egypt, Dr. Fabio Grazi indicated that “This operation confirms our commitment to playing a leading role in supporting the development of Egypt’s transportation sector. To date, the total loan amount allocated by AFD to the sector is EUR 450 Million and includes mobilization of financial resources for the realization of major infrastructure projects like, e.g. Cairo Metro line 3 and the Alexandria Raml tramline."
"Moreover AFD provides the Ministry of Transport with targeted technical assistance and capacity building programs to contribute to mainstreaming sustainable development goals into transport planning and financing," he continued.
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