The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources increased the number of households connected to national natural gas grid to around 8.3 million households across the country, Amwal Al Ghad reported.

The ministry announced that it prioritizes improving the services provided to citizens on a continuous basis, whether through providing different petroleum products through warehouses, or delivering natural gas to residential units. The ministry connected total of 580,000 households in fiscal year (FY) 2016/2017, including households in cities and villages in new regions.

The government has anticipated early December that 8.2 million households would be connected to the natural gas grid by the end of 2017, an official at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) told Amwal Al Ghad.

In September, Amwal Al Ghad reported that the number of households linked to the grid had risen to 8 million and that EGAS aimed to increase the number to 9 million during 2018.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources is looking to connect 600,000 households to the grid during fiscal year (FY) 2017/2018, according to the newspaper.