The World Bank has approved a $500 million (£295m) loan for a project that aims to connect 1.5 million homes in Egypt to the gas grid.

The Egypt Household Natural Gas Connection Project will support the Government’s effort to replace household use of imported Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) with grid-connected natural gas.

Currently more than 75% of Egypt’s households buy LPG cylinders from an inefficient distribution network, according to the World Bank.

Hartwig Schafer, World Bank Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti said: “Conversion to piped natural gas will help give households access to a safer, more reliable and cheaper supply of gas compared to buying LPG cylinders.”

By the end of the project, more than eight million households are expected to be connected to the gas grid.