The most significant developments have been in the gas sector, with promising finds made in the Western Desert and in the offshore Nile Delta region. Companies are making large investments in these fields, encouraged by attractive Egyptian purchase prices indexed to Gulf of Suez crude. Domestic gas use has grown with the construction of a 3, 000-km gas distribution network reaching most major electrical plants. Egyptian gas consumption is expected to rise 59.2 billion cubic feet per day by the year 2000. The strong new discoveries should lead to an exportable surplus of gas by 1999.
Agriculture remains one of Egypt's most important sectors.
The number of Egyptians employed in the agricultural sector also fell from 50 percent of the total labor force to the current level of 32 percent. Despite productivity gains since the mid-1980s, Egypt remains one of the world's largest food importers. Construction on the Toshka Canal project began in October 1996 in the Western Desert north of Abu Simbel. The project aims to double the size of Egypt's arable land in fifteen years' time. Investment incentives include tax exemptions, customs exemptions, and low land prices.