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Daylight saving time starts tonight: Set your clocks ahead

Businessmen Team news 24 April 2025 04:36 PM
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Daylight saving time starts tonight: Set your clocks ahead

Dr. Manal Awad, the Minister of Local Development, has announced the commencement of the summer operating hours for opening and closing commercial stores, restaurants, cafes, commercial malls, workshops, and craft businesses in all governorates, starting from Friday, April 25, 2025.

This comes in accordance with Article Six of the decision issued by the Minister of Local Development (Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Public Shop Licenses) No. 456 of 2020, which regulates the operating hours of public shops in conjunction with the start of daylight saving time.

Dr. Awad stated that during the summer, shops and commercial malls will be open daily from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM, with extended hours until 12:00 AM on Thursdays, Fridays, and official/public holidays. Restaurants and cafes, including those in malls, will operate daily from 5:00 AM to 1:00 AM, with 24/7 availability for take-away and delivery services.

Regarding operating hours for workshops and craft businesses in residential areas, the Minister of Local Development announced a daily schedule of 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM. However, this does not apply to workshops on roads, at gas stations, or those offering urgent services (as determined by the Supreme Committee for Public Shop Licenses). Furthermore, several businesses are exempt, including grocery stores, supermarkets, bakeries, ovens, and establishments with inherent nighttime operations like fruit and vegetable shops, poultry shops, wholesale markets, and pharmacies.

Dr. Manal Awad directed the governorates to strictly monitor the mechanisms for implementing the operating hours of commercial stores and restaurants in continuous coordination with the security directorates and all relevant executive bodies to ensure compliance with the new hours. She urged them to adhere to the new commercial opening and closing hours to avoid the application of legal penalties against those who violate the decision.