The Egyptian National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) and the consortium of Colas Rail (leader), Orascom Construction and Hitachi Rail signed the contract for the modernisation of Cairo Metro Line 1 to boost transport capacity.
The contract was signed by the Chairman of NAT, Tarek Goueili, and on the part of the alliance of companies, by the Colas Rail Managing Director for Egypt and Middle, Selim Helal.
The contract signing ceremony was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport, Kamel El Wazir, as well as the French Ambassador to Egypt, Eric Chevallier.
The contract “comes within the framework of the ministry’s implementation of a comprehensive plan to develop the moving units and operating systems of metro Line 1 to boost sustainable mobility. The project will ensure quality and continuity of the service, will preserve assets and reduce maintenance and operating costs, especially with the great importance of the metro in alleviating traffic pressure on Cairo’s road transport,” the Minister of Transport said.
The project is expected to start in October 2024 and will run for 64 months (almost five years and a half).
EUR 800 million is the value of the contract including 35% for Colas Rail, 35% for Orascom Construction and 29% for Hitachi Rail.
The project is financed by a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and L’Agence française de développement (AFD).
“The modernisation of line 1, which Colas Rail helped to build in the 1980s, represents a new challenge. Over the next few years, many of the world’s major cities will have to modernise their underground railway lines to keep pace with the growing demand for mobility among the population,” Hervé Le Joliff, Chairman of Colas Rail said.
Colas Rail will work with Orascom to modernise the electric power supply, catenary and electromechanical systems in stations and tunnels and on the rail track while Hitachi Rail will modernise the signalling, control and telecommunications infrastructures.
This work will be carried out during the day while maintaining commercial operations on the line.
“Building on more than 40 years supporting the Cairo metro, we will deliver our modern, digital technology, enhancing signalling, control and telecommunication infrastructure on line 1. Our solution will enable greater safety, reliability and capacity on the line and deliver more seamless and sustainable journeys for passengers in Cairo,” said Alessio Bencivenni, Head of Ground Transportation Systems for Egypt, Hitachi Rail.
“We are pleased to continue our successful collaboration with NAT and our long-term partners to modernise Egypt’s first metro line,” Osama Bishai, CEO of Orascom Construction said, adding that the project for Line 1 marks the modernisation of such transport infrastructure and positions the group to capitalise on expected future modernisation projects.”
Cairo Metro Line 1 is the oldest one in Egypt as well as in in Africa and the Middle East, as it started operating in 1987, about 40 years ago. The 44 km long line is the backbone to the capital’s urban transport system, currently carrying more than 1.5 million people every day.
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