Metro and train fare hikes will likely be implemented later this month, in tandem with the government’s measures to expand social security, Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir told Sada El Balad last night (watch, runtime: 1:06:06). Prices will not rise by more than 25%, the minister said, adding that the proceeds will be used to help the Egyptian National Railways (ENR) reduce its debt.

Breaking down the costs of widening and upgrading the Ring Road: The first phase of the Ring Road’s expansion — which covered 76 km, spanning the Alexandria Agriculture road to New Cairo — cost around EGP 11.21 bn, El Wazir said. The bill for the second phase of expansion — 34 km spanning the Alexandria Agriculture Road to El Warraq and Wahat road — will come in at around EGP 15 bn, he said. The costs are higher for the second phase due to inflation and rising prices, he added, and denied rumors that the ministry plans to impose toll fees on the newly-expanded road.

Expanding social security: The addition of 1 mn families to the Takaful and Karama social security program will bring the total number of families in the program to 5 mn, accounting for about 20% of the population, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said at a press conference (watch, runtime: 12:02) yesterday. Madbouly’s press conference also got airtime on Sada El Balad (watch, runtime: 8:33 | 4:03), and Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 2:24).

Arm of the military will build Middle East’s largest polyethylene complex: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi yesterday ordered the construction of an industrial polyethylene complex in Upper Egypt. The news came out of a meeting with the military’s National Service Products Organization. The facility, which is being billed as the largest of its kind in the region, will produce plastic for the local market, reducing reliance on imports. The meeting got coverage from Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 3:13) and Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 8:04).