The Egyptian Parliament’s Transport and Communications Committee has approved a US $2.2bn loan facilitation agreement between the  and GB Morgan Europe Limited and other financial institutions, for the construction of monorails in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) and 6th of October city, in Egypt.

According to the Undersecretary of the Transport Committee Rizk Ragheb Daiallah, who chaired the meeting, parliament values the monorails project and therefore its implementation should be swift. “Members must have sufficient confidence in how to repay the loan without the state bearing any burdens, taking into account that the Egyptian citizen does not bear any financial burdens,” he said.

Daiallah further requested that the committee’s members provide a full feasibility study to work on paying the loan, as well as construction contracts. “Once the study is provided, the parliament will fully approve it.

The Monorails project

Built by Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels, the estimated US $4bn project represents the first monorail project in North Africa and, once complete, will be the longest monorail system in the world at a combined 98.5km.

The project’s first line will extend 56.5km from East Cairo to the New Administrative Capital. The second line will be 42km long to connect 6th of October City to Giza. These are the first mass transit links to connect Greater Cairo with New Capital City and 6th of October City. With operating speeds up to 80km/h, the journey time for the new Capital City will be around 60 minutes (for 56.5km line) and around 42 minutes for 6th of October City (42km line). Once complete, the two lines will transport approximately 45,000 passengers per hour at peak capacity, greatly improving mobility for Egyptian citizens in a safe and sustainable manner.

The project will use the design-build-operate-and-maintain (DBOM) delivery method, and includes 34 stations, including both elevated and at-grade locations, and associated works including maintenance facilities, depots, and an Operations Control Centre. The monorail will also intersect with the Cairo Metro’s Line 3 as well as Cairo’s High Speed Rail network, further connecting the dynamic Cairo region.

A joint venture between Bombardier, , and Arab Contractors was formed last year for the design, construction, and maintenance of the monorails.