The government allocated LE7.1 billion (roughly $458 million) to be offered in loans with low interests to old car owners who want to substitute their vehicles with brand new ones, a senior Ministry of Finance official said saturday.
The new vehicles will have dual engines running on both gas and gasoline, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maeet added.
He said the aforementioned amount would be used in the replacement of 250,000 old vehicles with new ones, as part of the presidential initiative called “Green Incentive”.
The minister of finance noted that vehicles that are over 20 years old would be covered by of the initiative and that car owners would be allowed to repay the loans over ten years with an interest rate of 3 per cent.
The government will fund 10 per cent of the prices of new private cars, 20 per cent of the prices of taxis and 25 per cent of the prices of minivans the minister said.
He expected the initiative to contribute to reducing burdens on citizens by offering them financial incentives and facilities to substitute their old cars with new ones.
Maeet noted that old cars are a lot more costly because they need maintenance and high operation costs, compared with new ones.
The new cars will also save money for their owners because they will consume less fuel, the minister said.
The substitution of old cars with new ones, the minister said, would have positive impact for the environment because new cars emit less harmful fumes and contribute to easing traffic.
New cars to be offered to old car owners within the Green Incentive initiative have to be totally assembled in Egypt, with 45 per cent of their components manufactured locally, Minister Maeet said.
