Egypt to build three $1.1bn phosphate plants in Western Desert

Egypt plans to build three phosphate factories in New Valley province in the Western Desert, with investments ranging between 15 billion and 20 billion Egyptian pounds ($845.5 million-$1.1 billion).

The factories are part of the Egyptian government’s development strategy for the governorate, which includes the launch of more agricultural and industrial projects there, said New Valley governor Mohamed Zamalout on Wednesday.

New Valley, 733 km (455.9 miles) of Cairo in the southwestern part of Egypt between the Nile, northern Sudan, and southeastern Libya, is the country’s biggest governorate, covering an area of 458,000sqm, about 44.3 percent of the total surface area of Egypt.