Egypt’s Qalaa Holdings’ Chairman, Ahmed Heikal, announced that the company will operate 100% of its refinery units in the Egyptian Refining Co (ERC) in January, noting that the production capacity will be increased to 5.5 million ton per annum (mtpa) in 2021 from 402 mtpa, citing Reuters.

Heikal added that Qalaa has trimmed its stake in the refinery to 13.1% from 17.9%, expressing the firm’s desire to boost its stake again, but it would not be easy.

Heikal clarified that Qalaa will offer shares of Taqa Arabia and ERC in the second and fourth quarters of 2020 on Egyptian Exchange, without giving details of the quantity of shares to be sold.

It is noteworthy that ERC is one of the largest private sector projects in Egypt, which is implemented with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and other investors, with investments of $4.4 billion, Qalaa’s chairman stated.