Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ratified on Thursday an agreement with the World Bank to fund the Egypt Household Natural Gas Connection Project with a $500 million loan, reported state news agency MENA. Egypt's state budget is set to save $301.5 million annually in fuel subsidies by connecting 1.5 million households to the natural gas grid, the World Bank said in a statement after approving the loan in July of last year. Some 75 percent of Egyptian households rely on subsidised gas cylinders which officially cost LE8, according to the World Bank. In July of last year, El-Sisi began a politically sensitive economic reform plan by cutting fuel subsidies, raising prices at the pump by up to 78 percent. The government also signed this month a $400 million loan with the World Bank for apension project set to benefit 1.5 million poor Egyptian families. In addition, Egypt is expected to receive a $1.5 billion loan from the World Bank, the agreement for which was signed in September of last year, to fund the establishment of affordable housing and development of sanitation 760 poor villages. In total, the World Bank currently has 26 projects underway in Egypt at a value of $5.4 billion. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/128469.aspx
