Egypt has allocated EGP 2.1 billion in the coming fiscal year’s budget to finance the first phase of the green initiative, which aims to replace 250,000 vehicles to run on natural gas in the governorates of Cairo, Giza, Qalyubia, Alexandria, Suez, Port Said, and the Red Sea, Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, announced in a statement.

The Ministry of Finance plans to expand the project in Port Said Free Zone in addition to allowing other governorates to join the initiative as soon as they have the necessary infrastructure. The ministry also stated that they would allow any new company operating in Egypt to join the initiative, provided that its vehicles meet the minimum local component requirement of 45%.

Maait added that citizens can submit their replacement requests on the website, adding that a team of technical support has been assigned in coordination with e-finance to solve all technical problems that may arise. Tarek Awad, the Initiative’s Spokesperson, stated that they have received about 40,000 eligible applications so far.