FRANCE has struck a deal with the Egyptian government to renovate the main subway line in Cairo after 15 years of operation have taken their toll, both sides said on Monday. Under a contract to be signed here on Tuesday, the French engineering group Alstom will do most of the work to repair 52 three-carriage trains on the line linking El Marg station in the north to Helwan in the south. The line was initially built by Alstom. The Cairo metro, which eases the transportation problems of a city of 16-million people, is built and run by the French-led consortium Interinfra and Cairo Metro Company, with the expertise of the French engineering group Sysytra. The main line serves 1,4-million passengers per day. – AFP
Monday February 18, 2002