The signed deals included one with France Alstom on manufacturing and delivering 55 air-conditioned trains for the first line of the underground metro covering maintenance operations for eight years.

The minister expressed his ministry's keenness on developing the metro's first line which was the first underground metro in Africa and the Middle East as it started operation in 1987.

Minister Wazir also attended the signing of a contract to manufacture and deliver 23 trains for the first stage of the fourth metro line with Japan's Mitsubishi.

He noted that the implementation of the first stage of the fourth line is part of cooperation between the Egyptian and Japanese governments in carrying out development projects especially in the transportation domain.

The project will be carried out in cooperation with Japanese companies while JICA will contribute to financing it with a soft loan.