The Egyptian Bioethanol Company (EBIOL) has signed an early works contract with China TianChen Engineering Corporation (TCC), a subsidiary of China National Chemical Engineering Company (CNCEC), to keep Egypt’s large-scale bioethanol production project on track according to the planned timeline.

An early works Contract is a preliminary contract for work that needs to be done on a construction project before the main, final contract is signed. It covers initial, often site-preparation activities like demolition, excavation, or land clearing, allowing the project to start and gain momentum while the full contract details are still being finalized.

Once operational, the project is expected to produce around 100,000 tons of bioethanol annually. The output will be blended with gasoline to curb emissions, in line with Egypt’s green economy strategy and its efforts to cut down on carbon emissions while creating value-added petrochemical products.

The project, first signed in February 2025, has already secured all necessary approvals. In addition, most of the supporting infrastructure has already been completed, including natural gas facilities, drinking water systems, wastewater networks, and pipelines extending from the project’s location to Damietta Port.

Egypt has been forging partnerships with China in the petrochemicals sector over the past period. Last month, a delegation from the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) visited some of China’s industrial complexes. The visit involved discussions on potential technology transfer to Egypt and opportunities for industrial integration with key Egyptian sectors such as automotive, cables, industrial textiles, and electronics.

Moreover, executives from ECHEM  had recently met with their counterparts in TCC to fast-track the execution of key projects to produce soda ash, metallurgical silicon, and bioethanol, with an overall investment value of about $1 billion.

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