Egypt commits to IMF to slow projects, increase fuel prices

Egypt commits to IMF to slow projects, increase fuel prices

CAIRO - Egypt committed to a flexible currency, a greater role for the private sector and a range of monetary and fiscal reforms when it agreed to a $3 billion financial support package with the International Monetary Fund, according to an IMF staff report released on Tuesday.

In a letter of intent to the IMF dated Nov. 30, the government said it sought the support after the war in Ukraine increased existing vulnerabilities amid tighter global financial conditions and higher commodity prices.

Among its pledges is one to slow investment in public projects, including national projects, so as to reduce inflation and conserve foreign currency, without specifying where cuts might fall.

The government has been on an infrastructure spending spree over the last few years, building an extensive network of roads and bridges as well as new cities. It has also started work on high-speed railways and a nuclear power plant, each with a cost of tens of billions of dollars.

The IMF board of directors approved the 46-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) on Dec. 17.

Under the letter of intent, Egypt said it would allow most fuel product prices to rise until they were in line with the country's fuel index mechanism to make