The PetrolPlaza audio version is presented to you by UNITI expo, the leading retail petroleum and car wash trade fair in Europe.

English Español Egypt: Government funds thousands of vehicle conversions to CNG

Egypt’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) has signed two contracts to convert 4,000 cars from diesel to compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel.



Last update:
Author: PetrolPlaza Correspondent Pablo Plaza

The contracts were signed by Engineer Tarek Al-Mulla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Niven Jameh, CEO of the SME Development Agency and representatives of Cargas and Gastec.

The contracts are valued at EGP 20 million ($1.12m) and arise out of the government initiative “Towards Natural Gas”. The initiative aims to provide support and funding of vehicles switching to CNG.

After the signing, Mulla said that the Ministry of Petroleum’s intention to expand the nation’s fleet of NGVs comes from its commitment to develop and facilitate services for citizens and to provide different types of fuel to the consumer, including natural ga - characterized by low cost compared to gasoline and diesel.

Mullah said that the wider use of natural gas as a fuel for cars contributes to reducing pressure on imported gasoline and diesel. Furthermore, the support of the State is justified by the added value brought to the community through the establishment of manufacturing industries that serve this activity and new stations and conversion centers.

The NGV population in Egypt is approximately 248,000. The conversion program aims to lift the conversion rate of vehicles to about 2,600 per month by encouraging owners to take advantage of low-cost advantages and access to finance for the facilitation and expansion of infrastructure of natural gas fueling stations and conversion centres.

For its part, the Executive Chairman of MSMEDA stressed that the signing of new financing contracts for the natural gas project is an extension of cooperation and partnership with the Ministry of Petroleum represented by Cargas and Gastec, by providing an instrument for soft loans to owners of cars to convert them with the lowest interest and extended repayment periods. Thus far, MSMEDA has funded the conversion of 30,500 cars, including 25,500 transport cars and 5,000 passenger cars.

The initiative “Towards Natural Gas” launched in 2018 in cooperation with the Ministry of Petroleum aims to finance the conversion of 10 thousand vehicles to operate with natural gas and the opening of 50 CNG stations.

Related contents

Discuss