EGYPT: Improvement of mobility systems in Cairo and Alexandria (2017 – 2020 extension 2023)

In April 2016, the Egyptian and French governments signed a declaration signifying their willingness to cooperate in the urban mobility sector. That same year, an Urban Mobility Forum was organised in Cairo by the French Development Agency, CEREMA and CODATU, focusing on the financing mechanisms of tram and metro networks in Egypt. This event identified several avenues of collaboration between France and Egypt, in particular to develop financing mechanisms for urban mobility (excluding passenger revenues) at national and local levels. Following the success of this Forum in 2016, a second Forum was organised in 2017 in order to identify concrete avenues for cooperation.

It is in this framework that a quadripartite cooperation agreement was signed in 2017 between the Government of the Republic of Egypt, the French Development Agency, CEREMA and CODATU. Under the terms of this cooperation agreement, activities and technical assistance are planned for urban mobility stakeholders in Cairo and Alexandria, with the aim of improving travel conditions and mobility systems in these two cities.

Among the cooperation themes identified during the Urban Mobility Forum of 2016 and 2017, the following themes were selected as priorities for technical cooperation:

• Intermodality, through the improvement of the design of tram and metro stations and stops in Cairo and Alexandria, in particular the interchange hubs
• Financing urban mobility outside of passenger revenues
• Optimising the operation of the metro network, in particular to reduce operating costs
• Governance of urban mobility, by assessing the possibility of setting up a unit in charge of pricing and by providing support for the structuring of the authority in charge of regulating public transport in Cairo.

These themes were addressed in the framework of expert workshops organised in Cairo and two technical visits to France.

Codatu Team