Egypt reduced its external debt by $14bn in the five months to end-May, the sharpest such decline in the country’s history, a statement released on Monday by Egypt‘s press centre said.

The country’s external debt fell to $154bn as of the end of May from $168bn at the end of December, according to the statement which quoted an unnamed high-level source at the central bank.

Egypt quadrupled its debt over the last nine years to help fund a new capital, build infrastructure, buy weapons and support an overvalued currency.

The government agreed on an $8 billion financial support package with the International Monetary Fund in March. It also sold a large tract of prime Mediterranean coastline to Abu Dhabi for $35bn in February.

Read: Suez Canal revenue drops as some shipping firms shun Red Sea