The Egyptian housing minister, Mostafa Madbouly, announced Saturday an Egyptian-Canadian deal to build the country's first monorail, which will connect the outskirts of Greater Cairo, 6 October and Sheikh Zayed to Cairo and Giza through the metro system.
The project, which is to start in January 2016 and be completed in mid-2018, is expected to cost $1.5 billion, which the New Urban Communities Authority will pay over a period of 14 years.
Spanning 52 kilometers, the elevated train is the latest in a series of endeavors aimed at easing congestion in the capital, now home to more than 20 million residents. In the first phase of the project, which starts on the Alexandria desert road passing by Sheikh Zayed, 12 stations will be constructed covering 17 kilometers, followed by five additional stations covering an additional 25 km in the second phase.
In addition to several infrastructure projects, including bridges, the underground metro’s third line has been undergoing extension works, with the second phase being completed a year ago.
The monorail project will be carried out by an alliance of companies including the Canadian Bombardier Inc, Egyptian Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors. During a meeting with Deputy Transportation Minister Hany Azer, Madbouly said that alliance’s offer was approved including all technical and financial specifics.
Bombardier, the multinational aerospace and transportation company, has worked on similar projects in 18 countries including the United States, Spain, Italy, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.