World Bank approves expanding gas household access to 20 Egypt governorates

World Bank Group has approved to increase natural gas household access to 20 governorates across Egypt instead of 11, Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr announced Saturday.

The 20 governorates will include a number of cities in Upper Egypt.

The project would then provide gas access to 2.4 million households in four years, including 1.1 million homes in 11 governorates namely; Giza, Ismailia, Alexandria, Marsa Matrouh, Qalyubia, Monufia, Dakahlia, Qena, Sohag, Gharbia, and Aswan, Nasr said.

The Egyptian minister made these remarks following her meeting with a World Bank delegation, which is currently visiting Cairo, in the presence of representatives of French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Union.

The Egypt Household Natural Gas Connection Project aims to support the government’s programme to replace household consumption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), which is mostly imported, with grid-connected natural gas.

The project is partially funded by the World Bank Group by $500 million, the French Development Agency by €70 million, and the European Union through a €68 million grant.

It is implemented by the state-run Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and its affiliates Town Gas and Egypt Gas.

The World Bank has supported the expansion of the grid since 2008 with the Egypt Natural Gas Connection project.