Egypt's Abu Qir Fertilizers mulls $2.6bln methanol project in Ain Sokhna

Cairo –  Abu Qir Fertilizers is considering the establishment of a methanol plant inside Ain Sokhna Port with an investment cost of about $2.6 billion.

The potential project will be jointly owned by Abu Qir Fertilizers, Helwan Fertilizers Company, and Al Ahly Capital Holding, according to a bourse disclosure on Tuesday.

The first phase of the project is expected to be implemented with $1.6 billion, while the investment cost of the second phase is estimated at $1 billion.

The annual output capacity of the first phase is forecast to reach 1 million tonnes of methanol and 400,000 tonnes of ammonia planned to be totally exported.

The company received an initial approval from the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) for the allocation of 1.6 million square metres for the establishment of the project and also obtained an initial approval from the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources for the amount of gas required for the project.

The methanol project is planned to be 70% financed by bank loans and 30% self-financed.

During fiscal year 2019/2020, the company logged net profits of EGP 2.69 billion, down from EGP 3.16 billion a year earlier.