At 9:00 p.m., the lights in downtown Cairo go out. Restaurants, cafes and shops are forced to close earlier to save electricity, ARD reports. The decision is up to the state authorities, and law enforcement agencies monitor whether it is respected. Street lighting and illuminated large billboards are also turned off earlier than usual in the evening.
Most of Egypt's electricity is generated from natural gas, the price of which has risen sharply since the start of the war in Iran, as has the price of oil.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly explains that street traffic in the country is a big problem and these measures are aimed at controlling it. "When the shops close, fewer people are on the roads - this saves a huge amount of fuel. If the city quiets down earlier, it helps the country reduce its daily fuel consumption", explains Madbouly, quoted by ARD.
Life quiets down when it is usually just beginning
Electricity and gasoline are heavily subsidized in the most populous country in the Arab region. The economic situation in Egypt is bad, and the country relies heavily on international aid. Now the government is trying to limit the negative effects of the war by collectively reducing energy consumption.
According to statistics from the Central Bank of Egypt, cited by the German public media, most Egyptians go out after 9 p.m., says urban planning expert Reda Farahat. "This means that this evening hour coincides exactly with what we call "night rush hour" for Egyptian consumers," he explains.
The poor are the worst hit
That's why restaurant owners are criticizing the government's measures. Dia Masoud runs a falafel restaurant with about 40 employees. "It will affect sales - they will drop by 30-40 percent," he says. "It will also affect my employees. But we will have to go with the flow until the situation improves."
Shorter working hours also mean less income - which can be a huge problem for many Egyptian families. A third of the country's population lives below the poverty line - on less than two dollars a day. Although Egypt is not the target of military action in the war between Israel and the US and Iran, people are afraid and feel threatened.
Tourism in Jordan is suffering
Jordan is a neighbor of Israel - the war is much closer there. The country regularly receives warnings of approaching missiles due to attacks from Iran. The economic consequences are bearable for now, writes ARD. The Jordanian government has managed to control energy prices.
However, tourism is collapsing, and this is a key pillar of Jordan's economy, says aid worker Maria Tomic, part of the team of the organization "Action Against Hunger" in the capital Amman. "They say that during the weekend at the end of Ramadan there were only 2,000 tourists in Petra. That's nothing for such a peak period." The decrease in tourist flow in the ancient city of Petra is always a red flag for Jordan. The country is generally considered a safe destination for tourists.
Curfew does not apply to tourist locations in Egypt
Tourism is also very important for the Egyptian economy. According to information from the government in Cairo, 19 million tourists visited the country last year - a record for Egypt. Now it seems as if the war in Iran is deterring people from traveling to this part of the world, although Egypt is not directly threatened by military action.
In tourist complexes such as those on the Red Sea coast, the electricity-saving curfew does not apply, emphasizes the Minister of Tourism of Egypt. In the rest of the country, these measures will initially be in effect for one month.
However, experts warn that the longer the war in Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continue, the more serious the economic consequences for Egypt will be, summarizes Nina Amin from ARD.
Author: Nina Amin ARD