Egypt inks $10.9bn deal for MENA’s largest petrochemical complex

Egypt signed a deal to build the Middle East’s biggest petrochemical complex project on Saturday as part of its planned economic zone near the Suez Canal, the Cabinet said on Friday.

The contract between the Suez Canal Authority and the privately owned firm Carbon Holdings aimed to set up a massive $10.9 billion petrochemical complex which would be the largest in the Middle East, a Cabinet statement said.

Carbon Holdings CEO Basil El-Baz said the project would take around three and a half years to build, according to Egypt’s state news agency MENA.

The five million square metre project in El-Ain El-Sokhna in Suez is expected to create 48,000 jobs.

Egypt aims to create economic zones around the canal, one of Egypt’s main sources of hard currency, that will make the area an international industrial and logistical hub to attract ships and generate foreign investment.

The government aims through new projects and current economic reforms to lure investors and boost growth.

Source: Ahram Online