A joint venture between Egyptian contractor Orascom and the Mitsubishi Corporation has signed a $800m contract with Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels for the first phase of Cairo Metro’s Line 4.

The underground line will be the ”main metro line for tourism transportation in Egypt” according to Orascom, and will connect 16 stations over 19km, linking Greater Cairo’s centre to Giza’s pyramids, as well as Besix and Orascom’s Grand Egyptian Museum.

Work on the project includes track laying, depot and workshop construction, signalling, power supplies, telecoms and automatic fare collection.

The development will be financed by a loan from the Japanese International Corporation Agency.

An Orascom joint venture with Arabco, Bouygues and Vinci won a contract for phase 3 of the third line of Cairo’s metro in 2016, and Bombardier and Orascom won a $1.5bn Cairo monorail contract in 2015.

Osama Bishai, Orascom Construction’s chief executive, said: “This contract is testament to our strength in the transportation sector and builds on our longstanding involvement in the development of Cairo Metro.

“We are pleased to partner with Mitsubishi Corporation on this new line which will be receiving funding from the Japanese International Corporation Agency and to collaborate once again with our repeat client, the National Authority for Tunnels. This project also positions us for future work in this sector, ranging from new phases of Cairo Metro to new railway projects.”