He also vowed to get to the bottom of recent power disruptions in the country of some 90 million.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi Saturday vowed to resolve Egypt’s electricity crisis, outlining a five-year, multibillion-dollar plan.

In a televised addressed, Sisi acknowledged that there little had been done in the way of developing the country’s ailing electricity sector to meet the growing demands of the Arab world’s most populous country.

Noting that the challenges were great, Sisi said the state would need $12 billion to develop the country’s power sector and urged citizens to be patient.

He also vowed to get to the bottom of recent power disruptions in the country of some 90 million.

The government’s inability to pay for enough imported fuel, debts to foreign oil companies, and old and poorly maintained equipment have all contributed to a monthslong power crisis in which rolling blackouts have plunged entire neighborhoods into darkness for several hours a day.

The government, partially blaming the outages on saboteurs, had recently promised to restore electricity by the end of the year.

Over the past week there had been a noticeable reduction in the power cuts, coinciding with slightly cooler weather after a scorching August.

 
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