The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, reviewed the mining sector’s achievements and development starting from 2018 before the Industry Committee in the House of Representatives.

El Molla affirmed that the ministry has adopted new investment criteria for the first time in the field of extracting mineral raw materials to increase the added value and export these raw materials in high quality to maximize the national mining contribution.

According to El Molla, the ministry aims to increase its mining contribution in the gross domestic product (GDP) to reach 5% during the next five years.

The minister mentioned that Egypt is applying and developing new investment models to encourage investors to apply for its bid rounds such as the digital investment maps and additional incentives. He also added that the bid round which is going to be closed in mid-March, received a large number of international bidders. He also assured the completion of all 11 gold agreements with the international and national companies that won the previous investment bid.

El Molla also showcased the two-year strides in the natural gas field before the Industry Committee, mentioning that the natural gas households’ delivery rates have been doubled since 2018 to reach 1.2 million residential units annually, instead of 600,000 units. In the last five years the natural gas delivery reached 5.5 million household units.