Resource information
The Greater Cairo Metropolitan Area
(GCMA), with more than 19 million inhabitants, is host to
more than one-fifth of Egypt's population. The GCMA is
also an important contributor to the Egyptian economy in
terms of GDP and jobs. The population of the GCMA is
expected to further increase to 24 million by 2027, and
correspondingly its importance to the economy will also
increase. Traffic congestion is a serious problem in the
GCMA with large and adverse effects on both the quality of
life and the economy. In addition to the time wasted
standing still in traffic, time that could be put to more
productive uses, congestion results in unnecessary fuel
consumption, causes additional wear and tear on vehicles,
increases harmful emissions lowering air quality, increases
the costs of transport for business, and makes the GCMA an
unattractive location for businesses and industry. These
adverse effects have very real and large monetary and
nonmonetary costs not only for the economy of the GCMA, but
given its size, for the economy of Egypt as well. As the
population of the GCMA continues to increase, traffic
congestion is becoming worse and the need to address this
congestion is becoming more urgent. In recognition of the
seriousness of the problem of traffic congestion, and upon
the request of Government, primarily the Ministries of
Finance, Transport, Housing, and Interior, the World Bank
funded an investigation into its magnitude, causes, and
potential solutions in the GCMA. This report documents the
results of the study. The results of this study should be of
interest to policy-makers and practitioners in the GCMA, the
Egyptian Government, other cities facing similar problems,
and international financial institutions.
