Under cost pressure, the Oil Ministry has scaled back its target for the number of homes it will connect to the national natural gas grid in FY2017-18, aiming to hook up some 600k, down from a previously planned 1 mn, undersecretary for gas projects Mohamed Hassanein Radwan tells Youm7. The reduced target comes as the ministry faces rising cost pressure: Contractors to whom it grants concessions to connect and service homes are demanding higher connection fees given that up to 75% of their materials are imported. The ministry’s initial target of 1 mn homes was expected to cost EGP 4.2 bn. The Finance Ministry has allocated EGP 1.2 bn in the state budget for the current fiscal year to connecting homes to natural gas.

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