Egypt's ministry of petroleum and mineral resources stressed on Tuesday that there is no intention to raise fuel prices and there would be no limitations on the amount of fuel that could be taken with the newly introduced smart card, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported. The introduction of the new card for fuel measures, postponed several times since 2013, is part of a long-term plan to cut state fuel subsidies, which have accounted for some 13 percent of government spending in this year's budget. Spokesperson for the ministry Hamdy Abdel Aziz also highlighted in the statement that there would be no raise in fuel prices even after implementing the new card system. Egypt is to implement the long-planned smart card system for fuel at gas stations starting on 15 June. The new smart cards will allow the government to monitor consumption patterns to determine future rationing, he said. Last year, the government raised fuel prices by up to 78 percent to reduce subsidies by LE 44 billion, as the cabinet sought to reduce its budget deficit to 10 percent of the GDP, down from 12.8 percent in the previous year. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/130697.aspx
