Egypt has officially begun construction of a major phosphoric acid production complex in the New Valley governorate, marking a new step in the country’s efforts to expand its mining and phosphate-based chemicals industry.

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi and New Valley Governor Hanan Magdy attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Abu Tartour phosphoric acid plant, which was awarded to a consortium including China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC).

Badawi described the project as an important step in upgrading Egypt’s mining sector and improving the utilisation of the country’s phosphate resources. The plant is also expected to help address gaps in Egypt’s phosphate-based chemical supply chain while raising the efficiency and quality of mining operations.

During the ceremony, Badawi and Magdy toured the project site and construction area and met with representatives of the project’s construction partners and general contractor.

Located in Abu Tartour in Egypt’s southwestern New Valley, the first phase of the project will include a commercial-grade phosphoric acid production unit with annual capacity of 250,000 tonnes.

The phase will also feature a supporting sulfuric acid plant with annual capacity of 800,000 tonnes, along with a range of utility and supporting facilities.

Construction is scheduled to take approximately 35 months.

The development is expected to strengthen Egypt’s domestic phosphate processing capabilities by moving further up the value chain from raw phosphate production to higher-value chemical products. - TradeArabia News Service