A framework agreement was recently signed between the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) and the Chinese firm Binhua, a subsidiary of the Chinese Befar Group, to establish a Green Marine project within TEDA-Egypt zone in the SCZone’s Ain al-Sokhna Integrated Industrial Zone.
The agreement was signed by Mohamed Abdel Gawad, SCZONE Vice Chairman for Investment Affairs and Promotion; and Geo Peng, Director General of Binhua for the Middle East and Africa. Attending the signing ceremony were Waleid Gamal El-Din, SCZone Chairman; Liu Aimin, Chairman of China-Africa TEDA-Egypt; Song Yongxiang, Mayor of the Chinese Municipality of Binzhou; and Yu Jiang, Chairman of Befar Group.
According to the agreement, the project will be built in three phases. The first phase will be established on an area of 300,000 sq. m., at an investment cost of USD250 million; it should provide 795 job opportunities. This phase aims to produce 100,000 tons of caustic soda; 50,000 tons of hydrochloric acid; 40,000 tons of bleach and colour removers used in the textile and fabric industry; and 10,000 tons of bromine and its extracts. The first phase is estimated to yield an annual revenue of USD230 million.
The second phase of the project aims to expand the scope of production of chlorine, polyether and polyurethane products to meet the local needs of industries such as the automotive and building materials, and to develop soda ash which is necessary for the manufacture of high-quality glass.
The third phase of the project will focus on local C2-C5 resources to develop advanced technologies in producing new chemicals.
TEDA is an area of joint economic and trade cooperation zone at SCZone; it has been operating for more than 15 years, and has witnessed major success stories of the cooperation between Egypt and China.
Befar Group is headquartered in Binzhou, Shandong, China; it is a leading petroleum and chemical enterprise in China. It serves the textile, pharmaceutical, metallurgical, thermal power and petroleum industries.
Worth mentioning is that last November, SCZone signed a letter of intent with Befar Group to establish a USD 2 billion industrial green complex in the SCZone’s East Port Said Integrated Zone.