The Ismail Cabinet approved on Thursday the Planning Ministry’s Unified Planning Act and sent it to the Council of State (Maglis El Dawla) for review. The bill sets a framework for the state to regulate the planning and execution of national projects based on their merit, costs, and sources of funding. The ministers also signed off on amendments to the Agriculture Law to impose harsher penalties on farmers who grow certain crops in areas where their cultivation is banned. Violators will now face no more than six months’ imprisonment and a fine ranging from EGP 3,000-20,000. Cabinet also approved legislative amendments that give the oil minister authority to sign oil exploration and production agreements with the Egyptian General Petroleum Company and the Ganoub El Wadi Petroleum Holding Company.

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