Hill named project manager for mega monorail system in Egypt

Construction and project management consultancy Hill International has been brought on board to oversee the development of the longest monorail system in the world – situated in Cairo, Egypt.

Cairo Monorail consists of two lines spanning more than 98 km – one connecting East Cairo to the New Administrative Capital and the other connecting 6th of October City to Giza. The entire project is valued at more than $4 billion, and is the first high capacity link between Greater Cairo and the New Capital City – holding 45,000 passengers at its peak.

Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels – the body tasked with building Cairo Monorail – has appointed Hill International to provide project management, design review and implementation supervision for the construction. Hill specialises in these service areas, with additional expertise in quality assurance, inspection, scheduling and risk management, among others.

A consultancy with a global footprint, Hill has delivered more than 10,000 projects cumulatively worth more than $600 billion since its inception. The firm will now leverage this experience to add value to the Cairo Monorail project.

For Hill CEO Raouf Ghali, Cairo Monorail is of particular significance, as it “represents the continuing strength of the North African market in general and Egypt in particular.” The project explores unprecedented territory in the regional construction and infrastructure space, with notable size, scale, speed and scope.

For one, Cairo Monorail is being branded the longest of its kind in the world. Line one from East Cairo to the New Administrative Capital will cover 21 stations over more than 56 km. Line two running from 6th of October City to Giza spans 12 stations covering a total of 42 km. Stations span overhead and underground constructions, and will feature connections with the Cairo Metro and the Cairo High Speed Rail.

Scale aside, the project is also at the cutting edge of innovation. Running up and down will be 70 automated and driverless Bombardier trains of four coaches each, made of recyclable and corrosion resistant aluminium panels. What results is a highly efficient, cost-effective and sustainable rail network to feed an increasingly vibrant urban landscape around Cairo.

Add to this 80 km/h operating speeds of the trains, which make it possible to run line one in an hour, and line two in 42 minutes. For Ghali, the project is a proud declaration of Egypt’s growing appeal.

“With demographic factors, astute planning, and innovation providing an engine for growth in Egypt, we expect the country will set a global standard in executing ambitious infrastructure projects and programs like the Cairo Monorail for many years to come,” he said.

The project is vast and ambitious, and Hill’s Africa Managing Director Waleed Abdel-Fattah believes that the firm is up to the task. “Hill has a decades-long record of success in delivering mega-transportation and infrastructure projects in Egypt as well as around the world. Our team will bring the best practices and lessons learned from our assignments to make certain these new lines achieve the Authority’s goals for the project and offer a fast, safe, and clean transit solution for residents.”