Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) has awarded South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem the $377.5m contract for the supply of 256 metro cars for the third phase of the Cairo Metro Line 3.

France’s Alstom was the other bidder for the contract.

The contract includes an eight-year maintenance for the train cars. Delivery of the vehicles is expected to commence in 2018.

The contract is to be financed by the Korean government through an agreement with the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) and with export financing to be provided by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and Export-Import Bank of Korea.

Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) awarded the $1.2bn main civil engineering contract for the line in April last year to a consortium led by French firm Vinci Construction Grand Projects and the local subsidiary of Bouygues Construction. Other consortium members are local contracting firms Orascom Construction and Arab Contracting.

Phase three of the third metro line will extend from Attaba to Kitkat, via Rod el-Farag and on to Cairo University. It will be built in three parts, with the entire phase to be completed by 2018. The total length of the line will be 17.7km and will include 15 stations. The total cost of this phase  of the metro is estimated at $1.8bn.

A consortium led by Orascom Construction and including France’s Alstom, the UK’s Colas Rail and the local Arab Contractors won the electromechanical and systems contract for this phase of the metro.

The signalling and telecoms system and infrastructure is being provided by Alstom. The total value of the two signalling and telecoms deals is $204m.