Egyptian, French cooperation to develop underground

France has donated 48.75 million Euro (S 42.3 million) to Egypt for the upgrading of Cairo's underground trains, French and Egyptian officials announced yesterday.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Faiza Abu El-Naga and French Ambassador to Cairo Francois Dopffer, have signed a protocol for the metro project which will ensure safety on the oldest section of the underground system, built by the French engineering firm Alstom SA almost 20 years ago, a French embassy statement said.

Egypt is likely to chose Alstom to upgrade the trains which carry approximately 1.4 million commuters a day, a French embassy official added.

The Egyptian minister said that since the inauguration of the first metro line in 1987 the Egyptian government has been dedicated to maintaining the success of the project.

She added that the Egyptian government favours the prospect of further co-operation with the French in the development of the third metro line at a cost of 4.5 billion Euro.