Canadian company offers to finance Cairo’s sixth metro line

A Canadian firm is seeking to take part in financing Cairo’s sixth metro line by securing soft loans, Egyptian transportation minister Hesham Arafat announced Sunday.

Cairo’s metro, planned to have a total of six metro lines, aims to reduce traffic congestion in one of the most populous cities in the world.

The sixth line will stretch over 24 kilometres parallel to the first line from Al-Khosos north of Cairo until the southern suburb of Maadi in the satellite zone, to have a capacity of 1.5 million passengers per day, the minister added.

The Cairo metro is used by millions to get around the bustling city. The metro plays an important role in combating Cairo’s traffic woes.

Egypt’s Ministry of Transportation signed earlier in January 2016 a memorandum of understanding with China Railway Construction Corporation to construct Cairo’s sixth metro line.