Second phase of third metro line to start operating

Interim president Adly Mansour inaugurated the second phase of the third metro line on Wednesday, adding that it would be open to the public that day, EgyNews reported.

The new line reaches from Abbasseya to Heliopolis and includes four new stops. The opening of the new line, which cost LE4.3 billion to build and is expected to carry 600,000 passengers every day, was postponed several times since it was first scheduled to open in 2013.

On Monday, the scheduled inauguration was postponed for the final time and officials told news outlets that there was no explanation, giving way to speculation that the delay was caused by security reasons.

The metro is one of the targets of the prevalent bombings occurring in Egypt in recent months. The most recent incident took place on Friday, when a bomb went off in front of the Orabi metro station in Ramses, killing one person and injuring another.

However, on Wednesday, Cabinet Spokesperson Hossam al-Qawish blamed the delay on technical difficulties. He asserted that the new line will help decrease traffic as it reaches densely populated areas that contain many state facilities.

The first phase of the new line opened in February 2012, and goes from Ataba to Abbasseya. Work on the second phase began in 2009.

The European Investment Bank and the Agence Française de Développement have contributed to the financing of the newly opened line.

In media appearances, Transport Minister Ibrahim al-Demery had said in December that a fourth line, which is currently being developed, extends from Ataba to Kit Kat then splits into two branches, reaching Imbaba, the ring road and Rod al-Farag on one side and Mohandessin, Bulaq and Cairo University on the other.

Demery stated that US$400 million had been allocated to developing the fourth line, which is funded by the Egyptian government and a grant from the Japanese government. He added that the new line will carry half a million passengers every day.