EIB offers Egypt €1.2 million for second Cairo metro line

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU’s lending institution, is offering a €1.2 million ($1.4 million) to finance Egypt’s feasibility studies on the upgrade of Cairo’s second metro line.

The Cairo Metro, the major means of public transport in Egypt’s capital, currently consists of three lines and a fourth is under construction. Line 1 is 42.5km long and has 33 stations. It covers the Egyptian capital from the north to the south.

First launched in 1987, Cairo’s metro, which operates throughout the capital and surrounding areas and runs both above and below ground at a top speed of 80 kilometres an hour, is one of the country’s fastest means of transportation.

Cairo’s metro network accommodates more than four million passengers per day to get around the bustling city. The metro plays an important role in combating Cairo’s traffic woes.