Egypt carries out $7.4b eight petchem projects

CAIRO — Egyptian petroleum sector owns eight largest petrochemicals projects with investments worth $7.4 billion and total capacities estimated at 4.5 million tons per year. Oil Minister Tarek El-Molla said Saturday that those projects include the petrochemicals complex of Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (Ethydco) whose investments are estimated at $1.9 billion. The new complex has been launched Saturday by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in the attendance of a number of ministers and Armed Forces leaders. El-Molla made these remarks during his opening speech at the inauguration ceremony in which he clarified that the cost of producing petrochemicals is estimated at around $2.4 billion. He noted that this cost was estimated at around $450 million before 2000. Minister El-Molla added that the eight projects are located in four governorates; Port Said, Suez, Damietta, and Alexandria At the beginning of 2002, oil sector adopted a strategy through establishing the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM), since when the sector executed seven large projects besides Ethydco complex, El-Molla pointed out.