Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, met with Deng Zhaojing, General Manager of China National Chemical Engineering Group (CNCEC), and the accompanying delegation to discuss accelerating several local strategic projects, especially the Soda Ash production project in New Alamein and the Red Sea National Petrochemicals Company complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE).
Badawi affirmed that the Red Sea National Petrochemicals Company complex will add high-value petrochemical and petroleum products and reinforce Egypt as a regional hub for petroleum and petrochemical trade.
Deng Zhaojing said the group is executing and co-investing in several vital projects in Egypt, including soda ash, the Red Sea Petrochemicals Complex, metallic silicon, and bio-ethanol. He added that the group has operated in Egypt for nearly 20 years.
Zhaojing also invited Karim Badawi to visit the group’s headquarters in Beijing to discuss future cooperation and explore new projects and investments.
The meeting was attended by Alaa-Eldin Abdel-Fattah, Chairman of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM); Rasha Ramadan, Vice Chairman for Financial and Economic Affairs; Mahmoud Nagi, Undersecretary for Safety, Environment, Energy Efficiency, and Climate and Official Spokesperson for the Ministry; and Mohamed El-Bagoury, Head of the Central Administration for Legal Affairs at the Ministry.
Under the oversight of ECHEM, the soda ash production complex in the New Alamein City Industrial Zone is moving forward with investments exceeding $680 million. Implemented with China’s Tianchen Engineering Corporation (TTC), the project should be completed by mid-2027, producing 600,000 tons of soda ash annually to localize high-value chemical industries and reduce the national import bill.
There is also the Egyptian-Chinese joint venture for the Red Sea Petrochemicals Complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone). The project comprises a consortium including China National Chemical Engineering Co. Ltd. (CNCEC), ENPPI, and Petrojet, with construction slated to begin in 2026.
