Cairo – Mubasher: The Egyptian transport ministry is in talks with a number of banks and international financial institutions to contribute in a financing plan to develop the Cairo Metro Line 1 at a cost of around EGP 32 billion.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), French Development Agency, and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are among these banks.

The six-year plan will cover replacing the electrical system with a developed one, boosting the efficiency of the infrastructure, and replacing the signalling system, the ministry’s spokesperson Mohammed Ezz told local newspaper Al Shorouk.

The plan also includes manufacturing and supplying 32 new trains, in addition to changing turnstiles in all of the metro stations, Ezz added.

The National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) had received the first instalment of the French Development Agency’s $100 million loan last week to develop and restructure the Cairo Metro Line 1.