Cairo: Egypt's total subsidies for fuel, including petrol, petroleum products, and natural gas, amounted to EGP 517 billion ($28.97 billion) over the past five years, minister of petroleum and mineral resources Tarek El Molla said on Saturday.

Those in need of subsidies did not benefit from this figure, the minister noted, adding that there were many downsides to the subsidies, both economic and social.

Although subsidies were originally put in place to support Egyptians from a social point of view, however, reality confirms that such subsidies had a major negative impact that hindered social justice in the community, the minister stated.

These statements follow the Egyptian government's decision to hike fuel prices earlier on Saturday. El-Molla had also said that reducing subsidies would save the government around EGP 50 billion.

Source: Mubasher

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