Egypt’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) will finance the conversion of 150,000 vehicles to natural gas operation during the next three years. The project will be carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Petroleum, the Natural Gas Vehicles Company (Car-gas), and the Egyptian International Gas Technology Company (Gastec).
Nevine Gamea, Minister of Trade and Industry and Executive Director of MSMEDA, said that several state agencies are cooperation to help car owners to convert for natural gas. MSMEDA, through Car-gas and Gasatec, will provide soft loans with appropriate repayment periods to support CNG conversion.
In addition to its environmental benefits, the conversion to natural gas will reduce fuel expenses by almost half, the Minister said.
She added that the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources is implementing a plan to launch more gas stations and maintenance centers in various governorates. In addition, the Ministry of Trade and Industry cooperates with car manufacturers to ensure that new models are already equipped to operate on natural gas.
Raafat Abbas, head of the central department for non-financial services at MSMEDA, said that citizens can convert their cars now at Car-gas and Gastec stations and pay for the operation in instalments up to five years.
Abbas added that those who will convert their car for CNG at Gastec or Car-gas will benefit from the distinct maintenance services provided by both companies.
Noteworthy, MSMEDA has already provided EGP 242m in finance for the conversion of 45,678 cars (private and commercial) to natural gas, in cooperation with Car-gas and Gastec.
