Cairo s City Stars Mall (Photo: City Stars Facebook page)
Working hours in summer extends from the last Friday of April until the last Thursday of September every year.
In winter, commercial shops and malls are allowed to operate nationwide from 7am till 10pm, while bazaars, coffee shops and restaurants – including those at malls – are allowed to operate from 5am to 12am.
Workshops and handicraft shops inside residential areas are allowed to operate from 8am to 7pm, with an exception allowed for those on highways and fuel stations.
Takeaways services are allowed 24 hours throughout the week.
Closing times are extended one hours on Thursdays and Fridays, official holidays and feasts.
Pharmacies, bakeries, supermarkets, fruit and vegetable shops, poultry stores and wholesale markets are allowed to operate around the clock.
The seasonal working hours of commercial and entertainment venues have been in place since June 2020, with winter's hours set almost one hour shorter than summer's.
The decision to regulate shops' working hours is aimed to limit street and traffic congestion, crowding, and road obstructions in some areas, in addition to help safeguard citizens’ public health, reduce noise, and preserve public facilities and infrastructure.
Authorities will be following up on the implementation of the new working times on daily basis, Khaled Kassem, spokesperson of the local development ministry, said in a phone-in with the local DMC TV satellite channel on Thursday.
Facilities that violate the regulations will be subject to varying punishment starting with warning and then a fine, and temporary closure if the violations continue, Kassem added.
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