New transport fares shall not be ‘overpriced’- Gov’t says after fuel subsidy cut

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Fri, 05 Jul 2019 - 12:24 GMT

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Fri, 05 Jul 2019 - 12:24 GMT

A worker fills a car at a Total petrol station in Cairo, Egypt, July 4, 2019. REUTERS/Hayam Adel

A worker fills a car at a Total petrol station in Cairo, Egypt, July 4, 2019. REUTERS/Hayam Adel

CAIRO – 5 July 2019: Few hours after the government has announced the final tranche of fuel subsidies cut, Ministry of Local Development directed all governors to prevent any possible overpricing of transportation fares nationwide, said the ministry spokesperson Khaled Qassem.

"The increase [of transportation fares] will be fixed according to each governorate separately, and there are directives from the Minister to the governors [nationwide] to take into account the citizens’ interest regarding the new increase, and do not overprice in order to […] prevent [any] exploitation by drivers” he told Masrawy.

The Ministry of Finance announced early Friday the new prices as the commonly-consumed 92 octane gasoline price amounted to LE 8 instead of 6.75 per liter. Prices of gasoline 80's liter increased to LE 6.75 instead of LE 5.

The price of diesel will be LE 6.75 a liter instead of LE 5.5, while the price of the natural gas used for vehicles rose to LE 3.5 per cubic meter for cars instead of LE 2.75.

Meanwhile, government has announced raising the price of the cooking gas cylinder to LE 65 instead of LE 50 and the commercial gas cylinder's prices surged to LE 130 instead of LE 100.

The new pricing officially came into effect on July 5 at 9 AM, as per the government's decision.

Egypt's budget for current fiscal year 2019/2020 revealed the reduction of fuel subsidies to LE 52.96 billion, down from LE 89.07 billion in 2018/2019.

Egypt embarked on a bold economic reform program that included the introduction of taxes, such as the value-added tax (VAT), and cutting energy subsidies, with the aim of trimming the budget deficit.

Since 2014, the state committed to lift energy subsidies gradually over five years. It floated its legal tender in November 2016 before it clinched a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Additional reporting by Hanan Mohamed

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