Tarek El Molla, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum, said that natural gas has been delivered to 621,000 housing units in Upper Egypt since the beginning of the national project to deliver gas to the entire country, the ministry informed in a press release.

It is expected that additional 175,300 housing units and more than 1,600 industrial and commercial entities will receive natural gas within the current fiscal year 2015-16.

El Molla added that five companies were currently carrying out the delivery projects in the governorates of Upper Egypt to speed up the completion of the program. Natural gas delivery to Upper Egypt is considered one of the most strategic projects aimed at establishing modern urban and industrial communities and improving citizens’ standard of living.

El Molla concluded that he was closely following the project’s timeline and facilitating any difficulties in its path. The project aims to introduce a clean source of energy, rationalize the use of petroleum products, and reduce butane gas subsidies.