The Egyptian Ministry of Transport and a group of Chinese firms have signed an agreement worth $1.24bn to build a light rail transit system around Cairo.
Covering a distance of 66 km with 11 stops, the light railway is described as a fast tram service linking the new administrative capital city with other districts of Greater Cairo, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reports.
Work will start within three months on the railway, which is expected to carry 340,000 passengers a day and cut traffic on the Cairo-Ismailia highway by 30%.
Building it is a joint venture comprising China’s AVIC International and China Railway Group Limited, reported Xinhua.
Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and Chinese Ambassador to Cairo Song Aiguo attended the signing.
Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s president, met with the Chinese companies in mid-July to negotiate the project.
The Chinese group said it would assign Egyptian contractors with some civil and railway construction works that will provide thousands of job opportunities in the country.
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