3 coalitions offer to execute 5th metro line

CAIRO – 24 December 2017: "Three foreign coalitions offered to execute the construction of the fifth metro line in Greater Cairo stretching on 24 kilometers and passing through 17 stations," Chairman of the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) Tarek Gamal el-Din told Egypt Today.

"Priority will be given to the most efficient tender that is preferably coupled by a soft loan from the coalition’s state," the chairman said on Sunday revealing the nationalities of the three coalitions which are Italian, South Korean, and Chinese.

Minister of Transportation Hisham Arafat previously said that the maximum interest rate for loans offered is 2 percent.

Gamal el-Din said that technical and financial negotiations would start once the three coalitions submit official tenders. The selected coalition will conduct all studies needed except for the feasibility study which was done by the NAT.

The fifth line extends from Maadi neighborhood connecting the first line to New Cairo City. The third metro line is still under construction.