The contracts were signed with Egyptian International Gas Technology (GASTEC) and CARGAS, affiliates of Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

The agreements implement the ninth phase of an initiative to convert 150,000 vehicles to run on natural gas that was started by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in early 2021.

Bassel Rahmy, CEO of MSMEDA, said that the Egyptian government has converted 103,000 cars to natural gas fuel so far, at a cost of EGP 715 million.

Between July 2022 and the end of March 2023, 61 natural gas fuelling stations were built, bringing the total in the country to 688, added Rahmy.

A further 221 stations are projected to open in the near future, with 1,000 total planned, he said.

The growth in Egyptian gas production in recent years has encouraged the government to pursue fuel conversion.

Egypt expects to produce about eight million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2023 after the discovery of a new gas field in the Narges area of the Eastern Mediterranean in January.