Dubai: Starting today (Monday), stores and shops across Egypt will close from 10pm to 7am as part of a government initiative to conserve electricity.
The Ministry of Local Development’s decision, effective July 1 to September 26, mandates that shops will open from 7am to 10pm on weekdays and extend hours to 11pm on weekends (Thursday and Friday). Shopping malls will operate from 10am to midnight on weekdays and from 10am to 1am on weekends and public holidays.
Restaurants, cafes and bazaars will be open from 6am to midnight on weekdays and extend hours to 1am on weekends and public holidays, with 24-hour delivery services and takeaways permitted.
Exempt from these restrictions are supermarkets, bakeries, fruit and vegetable shops, hypermarkets and pharmacies. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced last week the government’s commitment to end daily power cuts by the third week of July and throughout the summer.
Measures include importing 300,000 tonnes of mazut and additional natural gas, valued at $1.18 billion, to support electricity generation and supply.
Egypt’s energy conservation plan, initiated since 2022, aims to optimise natural gas use for export, boosting foreign currency reserves.
