Egypt has completed refining projects with a total value of around $5.3 billion, resulting in a production increase of nearly five million tonnes, petroleum Minister said.

The projects were carried by Alexandria Petroleum Company and other state-run refiners with the aim of reducing imports and facing a rise in domestic demand, Tareq El-Mulla told the Egyptian daily Addustour on Tuesday.

He said the projects boosted Egypt’s refining output by nearly 4 percent to about 17 million tonnes per year from 12 million tonnes and reduced imports of refined and petroleum products from 8 million to 6 million tonnes per year.

“There was a large decline in imports although domestic demand increased from around 20 million to 23 million tonnes per year,” the Minister said.