{"id":1319,"date":"2013-04-01T13:41:46","date_gmt":"2013-04-01T13:41:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigeria-news\/cairo-airport-to-shut-partially\/"},"modified":"2013-04-01T13:41:46","modified_gmt":"2013-04-01T13:41:46","slug":"cairo-airport-to-shut-partially","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/cairo-airport-to-shut-partially\/","title":{"rendered":"Cairo airport to shut partially"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cairo’s international airport will be partly closed at night due to fewer incoming flights and to save energy, reports said on Monday, highlighting the economic crisis sweeping Egypt.<\/p>\n

Two runways will be closed for four hours starting from 1.30 am (2330 GMT) “in order to save energy”, said civil aviation minister Wael al-Maadawi in statements carried by the press.<\/p>\n

Only one runway, at Terminal 3 — which serves as a regional hub — will remain open 24 hours a day.<\/p>\n

Maadawi said airport revenues were not enough to cover the costs of keeping the runways open.<\/p>\n

The decision, which comes into effect in June, “could be seen as an honest reflection of the deteriorating economic condition in Egypt,” said an editorial in the state-owned English language daily The Egyptian Gazette.<\/p>\n

It also comes at a time of increasingly frequent power cuts aimed at saving energy.<\/p>\n

The oil ministry last week admitted it does not have money to buy enough fuel for all of its power stations. Fuel-laden ships are docked at Egyptian ports but have not unloaded their cargo because there are no funds, it added.<\/p>\n

“How will all the different utilities, industrial ventures and housing services cope with a major drop in electricity production and distribution during the summer season?” asked the Gazette.<\/p>\n

The unrest which accompanied the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011 caused a significant drop in revenue generated by the once-lucrative tourism industry.<\/p>\n

Foreign reserves have plunged from $ 36 billion to $ 13 billion in two years, and the budget deficit is increasing.<\/p>\n

A mission from the International Money Fund (IMF) is expected in Cairo in the coming days to resume discussions over a $ 4.8 billion loan, which authorities believe would help restore investor and foreign lenders’ confidence in Egypt.<\/p>\n

President Mohamed Morsi’s administration has been plagued by unrest and deadly clashes between protesters and police, blocking efforts to build broad-based support for a needed programme of economic reform.<\/p>\n

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