Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla called on the private sector to increase its participation in the investment opportunities provided by the petrochemical industry and the added value it achieves, the ministry said in a statement.

This came while he chaired the general assembly to approve the planning budget of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) for the fiscal year (FY) 2022/23.

The petrochemical, chemical, and fertilizer industries, which benefited greatly from the availability of natural gas as the main entrance to these industries, witnessed a remarkable development during the last period. This was positively reflected in the rise in their exports during 2021 to about $6.7 billion, an increase of 45% over the previous year. The minister explained that this made it one of the most important factors of the boom that Egypt’s total exports achieved during the year.

El Molla stated that the ministry has given full support to the petrochemical industry, whose ambitions and investments are increasing year after year. In addition, it has witnessed development in planning and performance in light of the modernization of the petrochemical industry strategy until 2030 and the support received by its projects from the Higher Committee for Petroleum Projects chaired by the Minister.

ECHEM’s Chairman Saad Helal presented the general indicators of the planning budget and the executive position of the existing projects, including projects in the implementation and planning phases. The company included EGP 1.3 billion in its budget for long-term investments and projects under implementation, Helal noted.