THE Egyptian government has signed a loan agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), confirming a fourth tranche of funding for Phase 1 of Cairo Metro Line 4 of up to Yen 100bn ($US 663.4m).
The agreement was signed on September 21 by Kamel Al-Wazir, Egypt’s minister of industry and transport, and Akira Ebisawa, chief representative of Jica’s Egypt office.
Phase 1 runs for 19km from Hadayek El Ashgar in 6th of October City to El Fustat in central Cairo, serving 17 stations of which 16 will be underground and one on the surface. It will provide interchange with Line 1 at El Malek El Saleh and with Line 2 at Giza.
Serving densely-populated districts such as Haram, Faisal, El Omraniya, and Nasr City, Phase 1 is intended to relieve traffic congestion and support tourism by connecting central Cairo with archaeological sites in Giza. The new metro line is expected to carry 1.5 million passengers a day when it opens in March 2030.
The Jica loan has an interest rate of 0.75% per annum, with a repayment period of 40 years and a 10-year grace period. The Line 4 project is being delivered by the Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels (NAT), with procurement tied to Japanese suppliers under the Special Terms for Economic Partnership (STEP) that apply to the loan.
NAT has awarded Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) and Kinki Sharyo a Yen 40bn contract to supply 184 metro cars for Phase 1, while MC and its consortium partner Orascom Construction are supplying railway systems, track and depot works.
Phase 2 of the Line 4 project will run for 31.8km from El Fustat via Nasr City to El Rehab, serving 21 stations of which six will be elevated and 15 underground. Interchange with Line 6 will be provided at Sayeda Aisha.
Running from Hadayek El Ashgar to El Hosary Square in 6th of October City, Phase 3 will be 16.3km long, while Phase 4 will run for 38.7km from El Rehab to Capital Airport.
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