Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli, witnessed Wednesday the signing ceremony of the contract for the construction of the largest petrochemical complex to be built in the industrial zone of Ain Sokhna in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, as part of the Egyptian state’s plan to meet the needs of the local market for petroleum and petrochemical products.
The contract was signed between the Main Development Company of the Suez Canal Economic Zone and the Red Sea Refining and Petrochemical Company, with the aim of establishing an industrial complex for refining and producing a range of petroleum and chemical products with added value such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyesters, bunker fuel and other petroleum and chemical products, according to a governmental statement.
It added that the project is built on an area of 3.56 million square meters within the geographical space of the Main Development Company, one of the most important developers of the economic zone in the southern sector of Ain Sokhna, with an investment cost of $7.5 billion.
The purpose of this industrial complex is to achieve high added value in this industry, to meet the needs of the local market from the project’s products, reduce the volume of the state’s imports of those products, in addition to creating export opportunities for the produced materials, and localizing this industry.
Abdel Nasser Rifai, Chairman of the Main Development Company for the Suez Canal Economic Zone, and Mohamed Ali Abbadi, Managing Director of the Red Sea National Company for Refining and Petrochemicals, signed the contracts in the presence of Tarek El-Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and Yahia Zaki, Chairman of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
For his part, Molla stressed that the project is one of the pillars of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources’ strategy in developing the refining and petrochemical industry in Egypt, and that it is the first and largest of its kind in Africa and the Middle East.
He said that the project would contribute to Egypt occupying a distinguished position in the field of producing many petrochemical and petroleum products such as polyethylene, polypropylene, bunker and other products, depending on the expertise and capabilities available and Egypt’s distinguished position, in addition to achieving added value from these products and thus reducing costs of importing them.
He continued, “Allowing the existence of many complementary industries and exporting the surplus to achieve additional income from foreign currency and improve the state’s trade balance. It also provides many direct and indirect job opportunities for the youth.”
He pointed out that the new complex would also be one of the main pillars in the national project to transform Egypt into a regional center for oil and gas trade and commerce.