29 Apr 2021; MEMO: Egypt's state budget incurred losses of 370 billion Egyptian pounds ($23.6 billion) in 2020 due to the repercussions of the coronavirus outbreak, the finance minister announced yesterday.
Mohamed Maait told Al-Arabiya that the most affected sectors had included "civil aviation, tourism and construction."
"The tourism sector was predicted to achieve about $14 billion in revenues during the current fiscal year, but the pandemic spoiled our plans," Maait noted, adding that his government was aiming to achieve a "primary surplus of 1.5 percent increase in the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)."
He pointed out that his ministry had reduced the budget deficit prediction for the financial year 2020-21 to "6.7 percent, down from 7.8 percent."
