Alaa El-Din Abdel Fattah, Chairman of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM), inspected the Wood Technology Company (WOTECH) project in Idku, Beheira Governorate, to follow up on the trial operation of the factory producing medium-density fiberboard (MDF) from rice straw, according to a statement by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoOMR).

WOTECH is one of MoPMR’s important petrochemical projects that converts rice straw into 205,000 cubic meters of MDF annually, reducing environmental pollution, substituting imports by meeting part of local demand, creating jobs, and adding value to agricultural waste.

This comes as part of implementing the directives of Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, to conduct field follow-ups on new projects and assess execution and operational progress on the ground.

Abdel Fattah began the visit by meeting with the company’s leadership and officials, during which he reviewed occupational safety and health indicators, the status of the project’s trial operations, production and marketing plans, operating economics, and measures to maximize the utilization of the plant’s production capacity. These efforts aim to help meet local demand for MDF panels while reducing reliance on imports

He also inspected the production units at the plant, reviewed the readiness of equipment and installations, and examined the stages of the trial operation being carried out in coordination with the German company Siempelkamp, an internationally oriented technology group for machinery and plant engineering, which is the technology licensor in the project. Abdel Fattah emphasized full compliance with the highest occupational safety and health standards and maintaining operational efficiency to ensure the project’s safe and stable operation.

Abdel Fattah affirmed that the WOTECH project is one of the pioneering industrial ventures reflecting MoPMR’s path toward establishing value-added industries that generate economic returns and contribute to environmental protection. This is achieved by maximizing the utilization of agricultural waste and converting it into high-quality industrial products, thereby supporting the concepts of circular economy and sustainability, while reducing emissions and harmful environmental practices resulting from unsafe disposal of rice straw.

He added that the project also contributes to creating direct and indirect job opportunities through supply chains linked to the collection, transport, and handling of rice straw. This generates added value for surrounding agricultural communities, strengthens the state’s efforts to localize industry, reduce imports, and maximize the use of local resources.

WOTECH was established as a joint venture (JV) between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM), Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Company (SIDPEC), and Petrojet. As one of the project’s founding shareholders, ECHEM oversees its implementation as part of the ministry’s strategy to expand value-added petrochemical industries and promote sustainable use of local resources.