The Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation has signed on a €100m loan agreement from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), to finance and upgrade the underground Metro Line 2, to improve traffic services on the sidelines of major projects’ discussions, organised by MEED Company.
Minister of International Cooperation, Dr Sahar Nasr, said under the funding agreement 13 trains will be bought to develop the underground Metro Line 2 worth €100m, pointing out that this project comes as the second funding agreement to be signed with the Bank in support of the efforts exerted by the Egyptian government to meet the demands of dense transports and lower surface traffic to other means of transportation.
She explained that the project aims to improve the living conditions of Cairo inhabitants through financing the purchase of 13 trains for the development of Metro Line , which serves around 300 million citizens per year (41 per cent of Metro users) to provide more sustainable urban means of transportation and reduce the climate change effects and pollution rates by relying on eco-friendly transportations.
The agreement was signed on behalf of EBRD by Hildjard Jacek, Director of Operations for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region, in the presence of Philip Teroort, the Director of the EBRDoffice in Cairo.
“The total cost of the project amounts to 175m euros to be financed through the European Investment Bank’s contribution of 75m euros in addition to the contribution of ERD worth €100m.” Nasr said.
The EBRD has contributed since November 2012,to 29 projects in Egypt with a total €1.37bn implemented in various sectors prioritized by the Egyptian government, such as electricity, energy, transport, drinking water and sanitation, as well as, supporting small and medium enterprises.
