CAIRO, March 30 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Egypt has enforced a package of energy-saving measures for a one-month period amid a global rise in oil prices in the wake of the US-Israeli offensive on Iran.
The measures include the closure of shops, restaurants, shopping centres, cinemas, theaters, and wedding halls at 9 am local time, except for Thursdays and Fridays when closing time will be 10 pm, Anadolu Ajansi reported Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s office said in a statement.
The measures also include reducing street lighting and cutting street advertisement lighting by 50 per cent, as well as reducing fuel allocations for government vehicles by 30 per cent.
Authorities also decided to close the government district in the New Administrative Capital at 6 pm and slowing down major national projects that consume large amounts of diesel for two months, the statement said.
The measures also include implementing remote work on Sundays starting from April 1.
Pharmacies, grocery stores, and tourist facilities along the Nile in Cairo and Giza governorates, as well as tourist destinations in South Sinai, Luxor, Aswan, Hurghada and Marsa Alam were exempted from the measures.
“These measures aim to mitigate the effects of rising energy import costs due to high global oil prices,” Madbouly told a press conference on Saturday.
Egypt’s energy import bill increased from US$1.2 billion in January to US$2.5 billion in March, he added.
The recent fuel price increases implemented by the government only cover about one-third of the rise in Egypt’s energy import bill following the surge in oil prices, the premier said.
On March 10, the Egyptian Petroleum Ministry announced fuel price hikes ranging from 14 per cent to 30 per cent due to rising oil prices.
-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU
