The Egyptian government signed on Monday two agreements with the Chinese AVIC/CREC consortium to implement the second and third phases of the light rail project linking Cairo to the New Administrative Capital.

The $130 million second phase, from the Administrative Capital Station 1 to the Administrative Capital Station 2, with a length of 3.9 kilometres and one station, would be funded through a Chinese loan of $60 million with the Egyptian government providing the rest".

"The overall construction work in the first and second phases has reached 65 percent," Egypt's transportation minister Kamel El Wazir told Zawya Projects on the sidelines of the Cairo ICT Forum.

The $1.65 billion first phase, extending from Adly Mansour Metro station to the New Administrative Capital 1 station, with a total length of 66.3 kilometres and 11 stations, is funded by a Chinese loan of $1.2 billion with the Egyptian government providing the rest.

In January last year, Daily News Egypt had reported that the project has obtained a $1.2 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of China.

Wazir said the $400 million third phase would start soon and be fully funded by a Chinese loan. The third phase would extend from the Administrative Capital Station 2 South to the Sports City station with a length of 14.7 kilometres and from the 10th of Ramadan 1 station to the 10 of Ramadan 2 station with a length of 5.3 kilometres.

The entire Light Rail project, with a total length of nearly 90 kilometres and 16 stations, would be completed by October 2021 and have a carrying capacity of 500,000 passengers per day, he added.

Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, said China and Egypt enjoy strong relations with Egypt joining the Belt and Road Initiative in 2017. She said the total value of Chinese-funded development projects in the country stands at $ 1.8 billion in transport, scientific research, and space science sectors.

(Reporting by Marwa Abo Almajd; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

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