CAIRO: Egypt's finance ministry said on Sunday it aimed to boost economic growth to 4.3 percent and have a budget gap of 9.5 to 10 percent of gross domestic product in the 2015/16 fiscal year, as it pursues a structural reform programme.
The government would reach those targets by extending new taxes and politically-sensitive cuts to energy subsidies introduced earlier this year, the ministry added in a statement.
Nearly four years of turmoil since the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak has hit the economy, scaring off investors and tourists. Growth fell from above 7 percent in 2007/08 to below 2 percent in 2010/11 and has not exceeded 2.2 percent annually since.
The government is targeting a budget deficit of around 10.5 percent for the current fiscal year ending June 30 and 3.5 percent economic growth.
A Reuters poll forecasts economic growth of 3.3 percent this fiscal year as Egypt pushes ahead with big projects such as expansion of the Suez Canal.
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