A joint venture (JV) of Vinci Construction Grands Projets and Bouygues Construction subsidiary Bouygues Travaux Publics, along with Egyptian partners Orascom Construction and Arabco Contractors, has bagged the €1.1bn Phase 3 contract for Line 3 of the Cairo metro from the National Authority for Tunnels.

The joint venture is already working on Phase 4a of Line 3, which will extend the system towards the eastern part of the city.

The scope of the new 67-month contract covers civil engineering for Phase 3 of Line 3, including 17.7km of new line and 15 stations — eight underground, five elevated and two at ground level — with a new tunnel being constructed under the river Nile. Work will begin in the residential and administrative parts of the capital, including Zamalek Island, and end in the city’s northern and southern districts.

Upon completion, Line 3 will increase the overall length of the Cairo metro system to 100km and serve five million passengers daily.

The extension of the Cairo metro will aid in regulating traffic and significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the urban area which has 16 million inhabitants and a very high population density of 73,500 people per sq m.

The expansion project will create about 5,000 jobs, and provide opportunities to French SMEs.