Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla to follow up on the progress of a project to produce soda ash and its derivatives, the Cabinet announced.

At the outset of the meeting, the Prime Minister indicated the need to move forward with the implementation of this vital project, which comes within the framework of implementing the directives of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on the need to start producing soda ash due to its great importance in the industrial field. The project is also one of the pillars of the national initiative for the development of Egyptian industry “Ebda’ that aimed at increasing dependence on local production and reduce import costs.

During the meeting, Madbouly indicated that the state aims to implement this important project, which will be established in the new city of El Alamein to produce sodium carbonate to meet the needs of the local market.

El Molla noted that the implementation of this project also comes within the framework of the projects of the Ministry of Petroleum to increase added value, stressing that the petroleum sector attaches great importance to projects to maximize the added value of natural resources, and the addition of manufacturing workshops will increase the ability of the petrochemical industry to maximize returns to the national economy and support the localization of the Egyptian industry. One of these workshops is the manufacture of soda ash products.

On the developments of the project, the minister explained that the shareholder agreement was signed and the project company the Egyptian Soda Ash company was established. Ebda launched the company in partnership with the Egyptian private sector represented by the Soda Chemical Industries Company and in cooperation with the Ministry of Petroleum represented by the Holding Company for Petrochemicals, the Ministry of Business Sector, and the Arab Organization for Industrialization.

The minister said that the entry of the private sector into the alliance confirms the government’s openness to increasing the contribution and participation of the private sector in essential national projects.

At the same time, El Molla noted that the founding assembly of the Egyptian Soda Ash company, which is responsible for the project, was held in late January. Coordination is underway with the Egyptian Public Authority for Shore Protection in order to meet the necessary conditions and requirements for the project in this regard.