The production of natural gas will be doubled as of the second quarter of 2017 due to the confirmed finds, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Tuesday.

"This will contribute to increasing the development projects in all fields, especially in industry," Ismail said following a tour of a number of factories in the 10th of Ramadan City and a meeting with some investors.

"The coming period requires increasing the actual resources of the treasury so that the budget can achieve its goals," he said.

"The current budget has only EGP164 billion for spending after 700 billion were directed for the debt service, wages and subsidies," he added.

There is no alternative to reforms in all fields, especially in the administration domain, he stressed.

During the visit, investors presented a number of demands, including providing lands for the expansions of their projects and addressing the problems of the high prices of construction materials and the fees of the road service.

The premier vowed that all problems would be discussed with the bodies concerned to reach solutions to them.

Source: MENA