Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Egypt awards $885m contract to upgrade Cairo metro

By Pramod Kumar
A train arrives at the Cairo subway. Line 1, which spans 44 km and connects 35 stations, transports more than 1.5 million passengers daily EBRD
A train arrives at the Cairo subway. Line 1, which spans 44 km and connects 35 stations, transports more than 1.5 million passengers daily

A consortium led by Orascom Construction, listed on Dubai, Egypt and Nasdaq stock exchanges, will commence the modernisation of the Cairo metro line 1 next month.

The €800 million ($885 million) project will be completed in 64 months without disturbing commercial operations.

The consortium has signed a contract with Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels to enhance the line’s efficiency, capacity, safety and performance.

Person, Electronics, Mobile Phone

Newsletter
Get the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your inbox every week

Line 1, which spans 44 km and connects 35 stations, transports more than 1.5 million passengers daily.

Colas Rail and Orascom Construction will upgrade the electric power supply, catenary and electromechanical systems in stations, tunnels, rail tracks, and associated civil works.

Hitachi Rail will modernise the signalling, control and telecommunications infrastructure.

The project is financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and Agence Française de Développement.

Orascom secured its first contract for Greater Cairo Metro in the 1980s. It has also been involved in other major transportation projects, including Line 4 of the Cairo Metro and the new regional metro in Alexandria.

The company’s portfolio covers over 3,800 km of sustainable transportation systems across Egypt and the Middle East.

In addition to its construction activities, Orascom invests in concessions and owns 50 percent of Belgian construction group Besix.

In August 2023, the French Development Agency signed a €100 million finance agreement with the Egyptian government to develop the El-Raml tram in Alexandria.

The new project aims to develop the old tram and build a new 900-metre-long station between Al-Raml and El-Manshia.

Latest articles

Cargo is loaded onto an aeroplane. The Middle East-Europe route accounts for 5% of global traffic

Middle East-Europe is ‘fastest-growing route for air cargo’

The Middle East-Europe route for air cargo was the fastest growing in the world in October, according to International Air Transport Association figures.  Annual growth in cargo tonne-kilometres stood at 15.3 percent in October, IATA said. The global average is 9.8 percent and the Middle East average is 4.5 percent. The Middle East-Europe route has […]

UAE citizens receiving housing aid include the elderly, retirees on lower incomes and widows

Abu Dhabi citizens receive $3.6bn in housing benefits

To coincide with the UAE’s Eid Al Etihad celebrations, thousands of Abu Dhabi citizens have received housing benefit packages worth a total of AED7.72 billion ($2.1 billion). This package, the third awarded this year, brings the total value of housing benefits disbursed to Emiratis during 2024 to AED13.2 billion ($3.6 billion) This week 5,374 Emirati […]

Solar panels near Nanchang, China; Acwa Power wants to acquire clean power assets with a value of up to 20GW

Acwa Power plans to invest $50bn in China by 2030

Saudi energy company Acwa Power plans to invest up to $50 billion in renewable energy projects in China, a senior executive said on Tuesday.  Lyu Yunhe, Acwa Power’s head of China operations, said they aim to work with Chinese state-owned companies to acquire clean power assets with a value of up to 20GW and an additional 1 […]

Turkey inflation rate cut

Rate cut for Turkey in balance as inflation stays high

Despite higher than expected inflation in Turkey in November, the window may remain open for the central bank to cut its key lending rate before the end of this year.  Turkey’s annualised inflation rate fell back to 47.1 percent in November, data issued by the statistics agency Turkstat on December 3 showed, down from October’s […]