Egypt to establish skytrain worth $4.5bn

Egypt’s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail met on Tuesday with the Canadian ambassador in Cairo and representatives of Bombardier Inc. to discuss the establishment of a monorail (a single rail skytrain) to link Giza and 6th of October City.The project, in which the multinational Canadian transportation company will play a part, aims to facilitate means of transport for Giza residents, and will be a step toward solving the problem of overpopulation in urban centers, said Ismail during the meeting.

“The Cabinet attaches great importance to the transport sector during the current period,” he stated. “[We are] propelling the studies on the project forward — especially studies on the economic aspects of maintenance, operating cost and the project’s funding — aiming to see them completed as soon as possible,” he added.

Cabinet Spokesperson Hossam al-Qawish said the meeting dealt with details on the cost and means of funding the project, the stages of implementation, train capacity, joint investment between the government and Bombardier Inc. in terms of the implementation, maintenance and management processes, and the company’s partnership in a number of other projects in the transport sector.

The skytrain enjoys many advantages in terms of ease of construction and the use of environmentally friendly energy.