Plans have recently been released for the next phase of the Cairo Metro. Development will include construction of the east-west Line 3 from Salah Salem to Imbala, which will also include crossings of the Nile on either side of Zamalek Island. Line 3 will have interchanges with Line 1 at Attaba and Line 2 at Nasser.
Meanwhile, work continues on the final 3km section of Line 2, which will extend it from Cairo University to Giza Suburban in the southwest of the city, and will include three additional stations. This section is due to open at the end of 2000. French companies, including civil engineering companies grouped under the Interinfra consortium: Spie Enertrans, Alcatel, Cegelec, Alstom, Systra, Sogelerg and Cogefar, have been involved in building and equipping Line 2. On completion, Line 2 will be 18.5km long with 18 stations, 12 of them underground. A 5km extension to Line 2, which opened in April 1999, marks the first crossing under the Nile.
