Egyptian authorities decided to temporarily shut down downtown Cairo’s Sadat metro station citing “security concerns,” state news agency MENA reported late Thursday.
In statements to MENA, spokesman for the Egyptian Company for Metro Management and Operation Ahmed Abdel-Hady said the pivotal station would be reopened after security approval.
Sadat is one of two main hubs where commuters can switch between the city's two main lines.
The decision to close the station comes amid anonymous calls for protests in the square on Friday afternoon to oppose parliament's final approval on Thursday of the controversial Egyptian-Saudi Red Sea island deal, which places the islands of Tiran and Sanafir under Saudi ownership.
