The government’s initiative to replace old diesel and gas engine cars to locally manufactured natural gas-powered cars has been announced to begin before the end of March by the Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait.

Maait pointed out that “Cars are required to be assembled in Egypt, with a local component ratio of no less than 45%,” highlighting Egypt’s position as one of the most important manufacturers and exporters of a number of car-feeding industries in the world.

He also noted a regulatory protocol will be signed between relevant ministries, banks, car manufacturers and insurance companies that that includes implementation procedures.

The state treasury will take responsibility of financing the green initiative for its first phase to replace 250,000 “obsolete” cars older than 20 years in the Cairo, Giza, Qalyubia, Alexandria, Suez, the Red Sea and Port Said governates.

This comes in a way that contributes to settling the auto industry and the industries that feed it, creating new job opportunities, and helping to improve the lives of citizens and the level of services provided to them, according to Maait.

Maait pointed out that the Ministry of Finance, through the "Fund to Finance the Purchase of Certain Express Transportation Vehicles", manages the mechanism of the presidential initiative to replace old cars, and its electronic platform, and takes measures to pay the value of the green incentive to the auto companies participating in the initiative.

The minister stated that the cabinet agreed to grant the owner of each old car from among the beneficiaries of this initiative 10% of the price of the new car, with a maximum of LE 22,000, the taxi by 20%, with a maximum of EGP 45,000, and the microbus by 25%, with a maximum of EGP 65,000.