Egypt signs $135m financing deal for Damietta bioethanol project

Egypt has signed a long-term financing agreement worth $135 million to develop a bioethanol production project in Damietta Governorate for the Egyptian Bioethanol Company (EBIOL), a subsidiary of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM), the petroleum ministry said Thursday.

The plant will produce about 100,000 tons of low-emission, high-value biofuel annually using sugar beet molasses as its main feedstock, the ministry said. The bioethanol will be used as a gasoline blend or in various industrial applications such as inks and paints. The project is expected to generate an added value of roughly $100 million a year.

The financing deal was arranged with a consortium of Egyptian banks, including the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Commercial International Bank (CIB), Banque du Caire, QNB Alahli, the Arab African International Bank (AAIB), Al Baraka Bank Egypt, and the Housing and Development Bank (HDB).

The project is part of Egypt’s strategy to expand green production in the petrochemicals sector, reduce carbon emissions, and promote environmental sustainability, in line with the second and fifth pillars of the petroleum ministry’s long-term plan.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English

Subediting: Y.Yasser