Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Transport Minister Hisham Arafat and Alexandria Governor Mohamed Sultan, in Egypt, decided to begin work on the project to upgrade Alexandria’s 150-year-old tram system starting 2019. The line to be overhauled is 13.7 kilometers long, passes through 28 stations and is used by 12 percent of the city’s commuters daily. It stretches from El Nasr (Victoria) district to Mansheya Square.
The project, which is set to be completed in early 2022, aims to increase passenger capacity to between 250 – 300,000 passengers per day and is estimated to cost about USD 425 million.
A new company will manage the project with the support of foreign advisors.
Alexandria, Egypt’s second-largest city with 4.5 million inhabitants, does not have an underground transport system and relies entirely on above-ground means of transport.
Governor Sultan explained in the meeting that the project aims to construct overpasses and electronic light signals, as well as to replace old tram units with modern ones.
The governor said that the project aims to upgrade facilities, stations and vehicles to increase the tram’s capacity in order reduce traffic congestion in the city.
We remind that in 2017, the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation signed a USD 120 million euro deal with the French Development Agency (AFD) to upgrade Alexandria’s Raml tram line, known as the Blue Tram, which connects the city’s western and eastern districts.
AFD will thus cover USD 120 million of the new project’s total budget of USD 425 million. Another USD 214 million will be provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
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