Exporters to get more of their overdue subsidies back in April: Exporters in the fourth phase of the government’s program to repay overdue subsidies will see only 8% deducted from subsidies on shipments made from July last year, down from a previous 15% haircut, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. Exporters are due to receive their payments on 28 April. The program allows exporters to receive overdue subsidies in a single payment rather than in installments over four to five years, in return for a haircut. More than 2.5k exporters have received EGP 33 bn in overdue subsidies since the program launched in November 2021, the statement added.

A Russian delegation has visited site of the the future Dabaa nuclear plant to check up on the progress of groundwork at the Rosatom-led project, according to Al Borsa. Meanwhile, French consulting and engineering firm EGIS is looking into taking part in constructing the nuclear plant, Al Mal quotes EGIS Egypt CEO Sameh Atallah as saying. The company is also hoping to take part in water desalination, sewage and smart cities projects in Egypt, he added.

Work has started on a Sinopharm-sponsored cold storage facility in Cairo, according to Chinese media. The facility will have capacity to store up to “150 mn doses once finished [and] will also help Egypt achieve the goal of vaccinating 70% of its population by mid-2022,” Chinese ambassador Liao Liqiang is quoted as saying. More on the embassy’s Twitter.

Other things we’re keeping an eye on this morning:

• We’re importing Russian coal to power cement factories for the first time: Alexandria Port is expecting a shipment of 5k tons of coal from Russia on Thursday, as the global commodities shock forces cement producers to diversify from US suppliers. (Al Mal)
• Natgas vehicle scheme reaches Luxor, Aswan: Vehicle owners from Luxor and Aswan can now replace their old, gasoline-fired cars with new ones with dual fuel engines gas under the government’s natgas transition scheme, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said. Almost 18k vehicles have been replaced so far nationwide, including 1.2k taxis and microbuses. (Statement)
• 2Africa subsea cable makes first landing in Genoa, Italy: The 2Africa consortium — comprised of China Mobile International, Meta, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC — announced the first landing of the 2Africa cable in Genoa, Italy. A total of 46 landings in Africa, Asia and Europe will be added by the time the 45k-km cable is completed in 2024. (Statement)
• Recycling startup Dawarha is using tech to tackle plastic pollution in Egypt through reverse vending machines that reward consumers for depositing empty single-use plastic bottles.