A Chinese company signed an engineering contract with Egypt for an ethanol production project with a total investment of around $1 billion

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Local media reports that Egypt Bioethanol Company (EBIOL) has signed a pre-construction contract with TCC, a subsidiary of China National Chemical Engineering Group Corporation (CNCEC), to ensure that the large-scale bioethanol production project in Damietta, Egypt, progresses according to the planned schedule. A pre-construction contract refers to a contract signed prior to the execution of the main contract, for the preliminary work that needs to be carried out in a construction project. It covers the initial, usually site-preparation activities such as demolition, excavation, or land clearing, so that the project can be launched and make progress while the final contract details are finalized. Once operational, the project is expected to produce around 100,000 tons of bioethanol per year. The bioethanol produced will be mixed with gasoline to reduce emissions, in line with Egypt’s green economy strategy of creating value-added petrochemical products while minimizing carbon emissions. The project was initially signed in February 2025 and has now obtained all necessary approvals. In addition, most of the supporting infrastructure has been completed, including natural gas facilities, drinking water systems, wastewater networks, and pipelines extending from the project site to Port Damietta. Over the past period, Egypt has been establishing partnerships with China in the petrochemical sector. Last month, a delegation from Egypt’s Petrochemical Holding Company (ECHEM) visited industrial complexes in China. This visit involved discussions on potential technology transfer to Egypt, as well as opportunities for industrial integration with key Egyptian sectors such as automobiles, cables, industrial textiles, and electronics. Furthermore, ECHEM’s executives met with their counterparts at TCC recently to accelerate the implementation of key projects for the production of soda ash, metallurgical silicon, and bioethanol, with a total investment of around $1 billion in these projects.