Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources: Strategic Projects to Localize New Industries, Reduce Imports, and Boost Exports
Expediting the Implementation of the Soda Ash Project and Increasing Local Content... The Red Sea Complex Reinforces Egypt's Position as a Regional Hub for Petrochemical Industries
Eng. Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, held a meeting with Mr. Deng Zhaojing, General Manager of China National Chemical Engineering Co. Ltd. (CNCEC), and his accompanying delegation to discuss ways to accelerate the implementation of a number of strategic projects that the Group is executing in Egypt as the EPC contractor, particularly the Soda Ash Production Project in New Alamein and the Red Sea National Petrochemicals Company Complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, within the framework of Egypt's keenness to localize value-added industries and strengthen investment partnerships with the Chinese side.
The Minister affirmed that Egyptian-Chinese relations are witnessing rapid development at various levels, highlighting that the petroleum and mineral resources sector represents one of the most important areas of this cooperation through the implementation of strategic projects that enjoy the support and close follow-up of the political leadership, as they represent a genuine addition to the national economy by deepening local manufacturing, reducing reliance on imports, and opening up new export markets.
The Minister emphasized the need to expedite progress on the Soda Ash Project, given its strategic importance in localizing the production of an industrial product that is currently imported, pointing out efforts to increase the project's local content in order to maximize added value and support national industry.
He also affirmed that the Red Sea National Petrochemicals Company Complex is one of the largest strategic projects currently under development, given the high-value petrochemical and petroleum products it will produce, capitalizing on Egypt's strategic geographical location and advanced infrastructure, thereby reinforcing its status as a regional hub for trading petroleum and petrochemical products.
For his part, the General Manager of CNCEC asserted that the close relations between Egypt and China provide a strong foundation for expanding joint projects, noting that the Group is currently executing and investing in a number of major projects in Egypt, including the Soda Ash Project, the Red Sea Petrochemicals Complex, metallurgical silicon, and bioethanol projects.
He added that the Group, which has been operating in Egypt for nearly twenty years, views it as one of its most important strategic markets, affirming the commitment to the timeline of the Soda Ash project, while working to accelerate implementation and increase reliance on local content, in line with the vision of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
The Group's General Manager also extended an invitation to the Minister to visit the Group's headquarters in the Chinese capital, Beijing, to discuss future cooperation opportunities and explore new projects and investments.
