CAIRO: Egypt’s Cabinet has approved the implementation of the country’s first high-speed train project northeast of Cairo, Youm7 reported Wednesday.
The new train is planned to pass through Egypt’s new administrative capital city scheduled to be built over 700 sq kilometers and house about 5 million residents.
The approval came during the Cabinet’s weekly meeting Wednesday. The train is planned to link between Cairo’s northeastern districts of al-Salam, al- Obour, New Heliopolis, Shorouk and the 10th of Ramadan, Transport Minister Hani Dahy was quoted by Youm7.
“The first phase of the project, scheduled to be completed in two years, will cover approximately 67.8 kilometers and will include 12 stations and 22 trains of 6 carriages each,” Dahy said, adding that with the train will cover the distance between al-Salam and al- Obour cities in 57 minutes.
The deal to establish the high-speed train was signed with the Chinese government and holding company Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) ahead of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s visit to China in December 2014.
According to the deal, the project will be financed by the Chinese company through concessional conditions and repayment duration of up to 20 years, said Dahy.