Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El Saeed said Egypt’s tendency to increase spending on roads and bridges for the past two years contributed to lowering the number of deaths due to road accidents in 2020, Ahram Online reports.

The minister further stated that public investments on roads and bridges are estimated at EGP 14 bn in 2018 and increased to EGP 26 bn in the year after, thereby reaching almost EGP 28 bn in 2020, according to state-run Al-Ahram newspaper.

Road accident deaths dropped 5% in FY 2018/19 and, most importantly, decreased by 44% in FY 2019/20. Therefore, investment in the establishment, maintenance of roads, and bridges for the past four years are evident, El Saeed indicated.

Egypt is implementing phase III of the National Roads Project, at a cost of EGP 35 bn, including 17 projects with a total length of 1,300 kilometers, Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir confirmed last July.