Egypt's Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros-Ghali denied any near-term plans for replacement of microbuses through a government sponsored program similar to the taxi and drawbar trailer replacement programs, Al-Mal reported. Egypt's trailer replacement program will be implemented over three ears and will target around 34,000 trailers, with August 2011 set as the registration deadline for trailer owners, local press reported. The Ministries of Finance, Transport, and Trade and Industry are cooperating with a number of local banks to finance the replacements by providing five-year loans at an interest rate of 6.25 percent. Program beneficiaries will receive up to LE 100,000 per trailer in benefits including tax and custom exemptions, with benefits expiring in August 2012, according to Ghali. AlembicHC said in its daily note, “The now scrapped microbus replacement program would have created a market opportunity to replace around 65,000 microbuses, of which GB Auto had intended to capture around 25 percent by supplying microbuses manufactured at its existing facility in Suez or through a new representation.”
