DUBAI: Dubai's Al Khaleej Sugar Refinery, the world's largest port-based refinery for the commodity, said on Sunday it had signed an agreement with the Egyptian government to establish a major agro-industrial complex that would produce beet sugar.

Speaking at an industry conference in Dubai, Jamal al-Ghurair, managing director of the refinery, said the Egyptian project, named Canal Sugar, would be located only about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from its market of consumers.

The project's chief executive Islam Salem told the conference that Egypt should become self-sufficient in sugar once the Canal Sugar project came online, adding that the key financial partner for the plant was Al Ahly Capital Holding.

The project will extend over 77,000 hectares (190,000 acres) and be farmed with wheat and beet in winter, and corn in summer, Salem said.

(Reporting by Maha El Dahan; writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Andrew Torchia) ((rania.elgamal@thomsonreuters.com; +971 562 160 434; Reuters Messaging: rania.elgamal.reuters.com@reuters.net ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rania_ElGamal ))