Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated the trial runs of Africa’s first electrified LRT system on Sunday, July 3rd, several Chinese and Egyptian media have reported.
The US$ 1.2 billion LRT project is financed by a loan from Exim Bank of China and jointly built by Chinese and Egyptian companies under the Belt and Road initiative. Once completed, it will cover a total distance of 103.3 kilometers with 19 stations and connect the New Administrative Capital under construction east of Cairo with surrounding cities and districts.
The Sunday inauguration concerned the first phase of the project, which covers a distance of about 70 kilometers with 12 stations and consists of 22 trains that will serve 360 000 passengers on a daily basis, Chinese official media have reported.
Egypt’s plan to upgrade the transportation system
The electrified LRT is one of the major projects underway in Egypt aimed at boosting the country’s transportation system.
Over the past eight years, the Northern African country has undertaken several major projects for transport infrastructure development, Egypt’s Ahram Online has reported. An example is the National Road Project, launched in 2014, under which 5500 kilometers of new roads have been built.
Egypt Today and Egypt Independent also reported the ongoing implementation of an express electric train network set to span over 1825 kilometers, a US$ 3 billion monorail project, and a fourth metro line in Al Haram Street.
Receiving support from China
Talking about the new LRT, Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang emphasized the significant role China plays in supporting Egypt’s transportation system upgrade. “The project was financed by China, adopted Chinese technology and equipment, and was jointly implemented by Chinese and Egyptian enterprises,” Xinhua News Agency quoted Ambassador Liao.
China’s contribution is also visible at the level of human capital development given that such projects help build the capacity of young Egyptians who support their construction and maintenance, through training and experience gain.
