Egypt’s General Organisation of Physical Planning (Gopp) is inviting consultants to submit expressions of interest by 22 August for the environmental and social impact assessment of a plan to upgrade and extend the Heliopolis tram system.

Cairo is currently upgrading its public transport infrastructure in order to ease congestion in the city

The successful consultant is expected to start the assessment work in the fourth quarter of 2010 and complete the work within four months of the award.

As part of the assessment, the consultant will carry out an in-depth study of the environmental and social impacts of the project, analyse project alternatives and develop an environmental management plan.

The consultant will also discuss the study with a consultant who will carry out the technical design of the tram.

Cairo is currently upgrading its public transport infrastructure in order to ease congestion in the city.

Japan’s Poverty and Human Resources Development Fund has given a grant to Gopp that will help fund the upgrade of the section of tram between Stadium station and Nasr City station. The value of the grant is unknown.

The plan also includes extending the tram to 29 kilometres so that it serves New Cairo, a new city in the governorate of Helwan. This phase will then be called the Heliopolis-New Cairo tram.

Plans to extend the metro system are well underway with the local National Authority for Tunnels expected to start the bidding process for phase three of Line Three in October.

The construction of Line Three has been broken down into four phases, with each phase again broken down into a series of construction deals.

Work is already under way on the first and second phases of Line Three.