Egyptian and Kuwaiti companies have signed preliminary deals to set up petrochemical and phosphate fertiliser projects worth US$6.8bn in the North African country
Under the MoU between the two countries, the companies will build a propylene complex, petrochemical and refinery plant, formaldehyde plant and phosphate and compound fertiliser complex in Egypt.
Work on the proposed projects is expected to commence in three to five years, Daily News Egypt reported.
Kuwait Industries union chairman Hussein Al-Kharafi said, “The projects will provide great job opportunities, which would amount to 28,000 direct and indirect opportunities.
“They will also boost Egypt’s ability in oil production to meet the needs of the local market and open an export market.”
The companies involved include Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding, Egyptian Phosphate, Egyptian-Kuwait Holding, Saudi International Petrochemical, Bawabet Al-Kuwait Holding and Boubyan Petrochemical.
Planned to be built at Amreya in Alexandria, with an investment of US$2.5bn, the propylene production complex will utilise abundant propane in the region. The facility construction is expected to start in 2020 and the complex will produce around 470,000 tonnes of propylene and its derivatives, according to Daily News Egypt.
The petrochemical and refinery plant will be built with an investment of US$3bn.
As part of Phase One, production capacities of the refineries in Suez would be evaluated and imported crude oil would be refined at the existing refineries to produce oil derivatives, which will also be used for petrochemical production.
The planned formaldehyde facility in Kafr El-Sheikh would be designed to produce 70,000 tonnes of urea formaldehyde, polyvinyl acetal, phenol-formaldehyde and melamine-formaldehyde.
Named Phosphate Misr and Abu Qir Fertilizers, the phosphate and compound fertiliser complex will be built in Abu Tatur in New Valley. It is expected to produce 500,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid and phosphate fertilisers.
Work on the complex would require investments amounting to US$1.2bn and is expected to be completed in three years, reports added.
