CAIRO: Egypt signed two agreements with the American Bechtel Group for a $7.5 billion petrochemical project in the eastern Red Sea governorate, according to a statement issued by Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla.
The agreements are to implement basic engineering works and designs for the Red Sea Petrochemical Complex project in the Ain Sokhna economic area and to be partners in implementing the project.
The project includes a complex for the production of value-added petrochemical and petroleum products, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, bunker fuel and other products for the local market and for exporting.
The statement said that the terms of the agreements represent the last stage before the formal agreement is signed between the Red Sea National Refining and Petrochemical Company and Bechtel next August.
El-Mulla said that the project “is the largest of its kind in Africa, and represents a model for projects that reflect Egypt’s tendency to build major projects and a strong petroleum industry, which contribute to increasing domestic production and export, maximizing added value and achieving sustainable growth.”
“We are pleased to see Bechtel, one of the leading engineering and construction companies in the United States, take a leading role in the most important investment in the petrochemicals field in Egypt, which enhances the commercial component of the US-Egypt strategic partnership, which is flourishing in many directions,” US Ambassador to Egypt Jonathan Cohen said.
