The Egyptian government proposed a new draft law to the parliament to open natural gas sector to private investors. The proposed draft law would enable the private sector to contribute in natural gas sector’s activities including shipping, distribution, sale, and marketing, reported Daily News Egypt.

The draft law further proposes establishing a new regulatory body that would supervise the liberalization of the Egyptian natural gas sector. This regulatory body should be responsible for granting any required investment licenses and obliged to prevent any monopolies.

The draft law is a part of the Egyptian government’s strategy to liberalize the Egyptian economy that follows the reform program approved by the IMF. The reform program will lead to a liberalized free market. The reform program includes reaching a flexible foreign currency exchange rate, cutting fuel subsidies, and the privatization of the public sector.

Anastassios Gentzoglanis, Economics Professor at the Université de Sherbrooke stated that liberalizing the gas market will lead to transforming the sector’s efficiency and competitiveness. He added that the independency of the new gas regulator is essential. Furthermore, assuring the investors that there won’t be a risk of policy reversal will result into boosting investments within the gas sector.