Egyptian government to pump 60bn pounds into economy

The new Egyptian government has decided to pump 60 billion pounds into infrastructure, housing, railway and metro projects.The Egyptian minister of trade, industry and planning Munir Fakhri Abdel Noor said at a meeting of businessmen that the investments will be part of a new plan aimed at reducing budget deficit to 10% by the end of the current fiscal year from 13.8% last year, investing 291 billion pounds in the current fiscal year, including 170 billion pounds in the private sector. He noted that achieving those objectives will help reduce inflation to 7% and realize a growth rate of 3%. He also said the government plans to increase the use of coal in cement production to reduce reliance on natural gas by 450 million cubic feet a day.