Maged Fahmy, president of the Industrial Development & Workers Bank of Egypt (IDWBE), signed on Monday three new contracts with gas companies Cairo Gas, Sinai Gas, and PetroTrade to finance the delivery of gas for homes in Cairo and Sharqiya governorate. The deal is aimed at injecting funding worth EGP 125m to deliver gas to 47,500 residential units in the 10th of Ramadan City by Sinai Gas, including 25,000 units in the first phase. The agreement also includes a substantial amount of funding of EGP 50m, to deliver gas to 25,000 units in Cairo and Sharqiya aby Cairo Gas, while PetroTrade is responsible for collecting bills. The bank has succeeded in the recent period in the contract with the company NATGAS and Fayoum Gas Company to finance the delivery of gas to 301,000 residential units in the governorates of Alexandria, Beheira, and Fayoum, of which 92,000 units have been implemented in the first phase and other units are being completed in the new phases with a total funding of EGP 500m, which raises the size of funding the bank injected into the sector to EGP 675m. According to Fahmy, the new agreements are in line with the bank's strategy of financing and retail banking for development purposes. He added that the bank has made great strides in this regard to enhance the role of the community bank in upgrading the services provided to citizens. He added that this approach also alleviates the burden on the state budget and the provision of gas as the main source of energy, at the lowest cost and long repayment period, to reduce the suffering of citizens and achieve a strategy of financial inclusion sponsored by the Central Bank of Egypt.. According to Hamdy Azzam, deputy chairperson of the bank, the signing of the agreement comes in implementation of the national plan adopted by the state, to deliver natural gas to every inch in the republic, and reduce the suffering of citizens in the provision of energy, through the instalment of the contract for long periods of up to seven years. Azzam stressed that the bank is continuing to implement its strategy, aimed primarily at reaching the low income segment, in light of the role of the bank in the service of the community and the expansion of pumping more funding, thus achieving multiple advantages of customer service, in addition to an ambitious strategy for mortgage and SMEs financing. According to Ayman Mohamed, head of retail banking and real estate mortgage finance at the bank, the bank has achieved unprecedented success in the delivery of natural gas to homes. The bank has contracted with Fayoum Gas to deliver gas to 10,000 units up now to 121,000 units, in addition to financing 180,000 units with NATGAS and 75,000 units with Cairo Gas and Sinai Gas. Mohamed pointed out that with the new agreements bring the total number to 375,000 units with funding of EGP 675m, which enhances the bank's completion of its social role in the areas of delivery of natural gas, drinking water, sanitation, and electricity metres, especially as it targeted the delivery of gas to social housing units, which includes a large segment of citizens.
