The Egyptian Parliament has granted the final approval on the new gas regulatory law, which allows the establishment of the gas regulatory authority, reported Reuters.

The purpose of the new authority is to pave the way for private sector companies to import and distribute gas within the country, where the state will charge a tariff for the use of its infrastructure.

According to the new law, the Prime Minister should issue the executive regulations within six months of the implementation date. All the entities working in activities related to the gas market should apply to the regulatory body of the law, once the executive regulations are issued, in order to get a license to work in the gas market. The entities will have one year from the executive regulations issuance date to comply with the terms of the new gas law, Al Ahram Gate informed.

The ministry of petroleum requested the launch of the authority and issuance of the law as a way of addressing the increasing demand on natural gas from the private sector, given that electricity generation is consuming most of the local production leaving very little supply for the industrial sector.