Egypt's Petroleum Min., CNCEC Discuss Accelerating New Alamein, Red Sea Projects

Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, met with executives from China National Chemical Engineering Group (CNCEC) to discuss accelerating the implementation of key industrial projects aimed at boosting local manufacturing and expanding Egyptian-Chinese investment cooperation.

During the meeting on Monday, Badawi and CNCEC General Manager Deng Zhaojing reviewed progress on several strategic projects being executed by the Chinese company as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, including the New Alamein soda ash plant and the Red Sea National Petrochemicals complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

Badawi said cooperation between Egypt and China continues to expand across multiple sectors, describing the petroleum and mining industry as a cornerstone of bilateral economic ties through strategic projects supported by the political leadership.

He said the projects would help deepen local manufacturing, reduce reliance on imports and create new export opportunities.

The minister stressed the need to speed up work on the New Alamein soda ash plant, describing it as a strategic project that would localize production of a commodity currently imported by Egypt. He also called for increasing the project's local content to maximize added value and strengthen domestic industry.

Badawi added that the Red Sea National Petrochemicals complex is one of the country's largest planned industrial projects and is expected to produce high-value petroleum and petrochemical products. He said the project would capitalize on Egypt's strategic location and infrastructure to reinforce its role as a regional hub for petroleum and petrochemical trade.

Deng said the strong relationship between Egypt and China provides a solid foundation for expanding joint investments, noting that CNCEC is implementing and investing in several major projects in Egypt, including the soda ash plant, the Red Sea petrochemicals complex, as well as metallic silicon and bioethanol projects.

He said CNCEC, which has operated in Egypt for nearly two decades, considers the country one of its key strategic markets and remains committed to the implementation timetable for the soda ash project while seeking to accelerate construction and increase the use of local content in line with the Ministry of Petroleum's objectives.

Deng also invited Badawi to visit CNCEC's headquarters in Beijing to discuss future cooperation and explore new investment opportunities.