Egypt cabinet ministers held a follow-up meeting for the first phase of the smart cards scheme, in which an electronic system is used for the distribution of petroleum products to customers. The meeting included the Ministries of Finance, Petroleum, Supply, Local Development, Agriculture and Land Reclamation, and headed by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail. Khaled Abdel Aziz, head of projects department at e-finance, the company commissioned to operate the project, said that the system is ready for being activated once there is a government decree. He added that 7.2 million smart cards have been issued for the distribution of petroleum materials for cars of various types, in coordination with the General Directorate of Traffic, pointing to the issuance of smart fuel cards for about 900 brick kilns, as well as cars of foreign embassies in Cairo. An official at the Finance Ministry denied any intentions to limit the quantities set for the cars planned through the smart cards system, or to linking the system to the expected increase in fuel prices.

Source: Egypt Independent May 29, 2017 09:56 UTC