Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait has revealed that the government has injected about EGP 115m in the obsolete vehicle replacement initiative until the end of August.
The finance acts as a green incentive for the replaced car owners. The allocated finance for the first phase of the initiative was estimated at EGP 7.1bn over three years.
Maait noted that incomplete applications were filtered through the initiative’s website.
He pointed out that 130 new microbuses were delivered until August, and it is expected that the delivery will continue during September, with an average of 300 new microbuses.
The initiative to replace aging cars with new ones powered by natural gas has so far delivered 5,050 passenger cars and taxis.
The first phase of the initiative includes seven governorates: Cairo, Giza, Qaliubiya, Alexandria, Suez, Port Said, and the Red Sea. This is taking place through the website dedicated to the presidential initiative www.gogreenmasr.com.
Amgad Mounir, Chairperson of the Vehicle Replacement Fund at the Ministry of Finance and Executive Director of the initiative to replace aging cars, said the total valid applications reached 31,500.
He added that 5,510 old cars (more than 20 years old) have been scrapped so far, including 5,213 passenger cars, 128 taxis, and 169 microbuses.
Tarek Awad, the spokesperson for the Vehicle Replacement Initiative at the Ministry of Finance, stated that the ministry is working continuously to filter the requests it receives on the initiative’s website.
Awad added that there have been about 8,780 incomplete applications until 31 August. People who made these requests must submit new ones via the website if they wish to benefit from the initiative.
The green incentive is estimated at 10% of new private car value, with a maximum of EGP 22,000; 20% of new taxi value, with a maximum of EGP 45,000; and 25% of new microbus value, with a maximum of EGP 65,000. Credit facilities are granted through 31 banks participating in the initiative at a fixed interest rate of 3%, with an installment period of 7 or 10 years, according to each citizen’s request.
