Egypt has set its new budget for the fiscal year (2024:2025) and its economic and social development plan, which includes fuel and oil derivatives support and investments in clean and green energy projects, in addition to new and renewable energy.

The Council of Ministers announced its approval of the new budget and the economic and social development plan on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, and the Egyptian Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohamed Maait, announced that this is the first time that the government’s general budget draft has been presented to the House of Representatives, and it includes the administrative apparatus and all economic bodies, Total expenses amount to about 6.4 trillion pounds, in addition to revenues of 5.05 trillion pounds.

The Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Hala Al-Saeed, stated that the relative distribution of government investment in the plan includes allocating about 3.8% of it to energy projects, and includes allocating 42.4% to investment in human development, 25.4% to drinking water and sanitation projects, and 8.44% to construction projects. For transportation and storage 7.1%.

Hala Al-Saeed confirmed that the plan includes continuing efforts to prepare the investment plan, and the plan’s goal is to reach 50% of green public investments, in addition to focusing on increasing the contribution of climate change adaptation projects from 22% to 35%.

The most important adaptation and mitigation projects were presented within the plan for the current fiscal year. The plan included many projects, most notably new and renewable energy stations, in addition to the high-speed electric train and the subway, in addition to the two-line monorail project in the New Administrative Capital and 6th of October City.

The plan aims to get rid of hazardous medical waste, in addition to protecting nature, managing reserves, and reforestation of main roads. The budget includes support for petroleum materials and derivatives worth 154 billion pounds. The increase in the volume of support is due to the rise in global oil prices in addition to the change in the exchange rate, especially in Cairo.

The most expensive item in the country's budget is the fuel subsidy item, despite the International Monetary Fund's calls to cancel it. The Egyptian government included it at the forefront of the objectives of the economic reform program, which was launched in 2016 through a gradual timetable.

Maait pointed out that more than 147 billion pounds were allocated to support fuel during the budget for the next fiscal year, which is scheduled to begin on July 1 and end on June 30, 2025, but this number increased by about 7 billion pounds, and this is due to the liberalization of the exchange rate, as Fuel subsidy allocations in Egypt for the fiscal year 2023-2024 amounted to about 119.4 billion pounds, with the price of a barrel of oil set at $80 per barrel.

The volume of fuel subsidies amounted to about 58 billion pounds, an increase of about 28 billion pounds over the target. The government aims not to exceed the barrier of 30 billion pounds.