On Dec. 24, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) alongside Wengfu Group inked a US$848 million contract with the Egyptian state-run Phosphate Misr Company. The project will be the construction and operation of a phosphoric acid plant in Abu Tartour of the New Valley Governorate in the southwest of Egypt. The signing ceremony was attended by Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tareq al-Molla, Governor of the New Valley Mohamed Zamlout, Chinese Ambassador in Egypt Liao Liqiang, and other Egyptian and Chinese officials.

The Abu Tartour plant project is the largest phosphorous chemical project contracted by a Chinese company overseas so far. It marks a significant milestone in CSCEC’s industrial endeavor on the global stage.

The plant is planned to have the capacity of producing 500,000 tons of phosphoric acid products and 1,600,000 tons of sulfuric acid products annually, and will incorporate a heat recovery system and proper public facilities.

As one of Egypt’s key industrial projects, the Abu Tartour plant has received great attention from the Egyptian government. The successful operations of the plant will help Egypt to reap the maximum possible benefit from its natural resources, promote the Egyptian industrial upgrading and industrialization process, create job opportunities, and boost regional economic development.

After many years of researching and multiple rounds of fierce bidding, the consortium formed by CSCEC and China’s leading phosphate producers, such as Wengfu Group and East China Engineering Science & Technology Co., Ltd., has stood out among well-known international contractors. The consortium model adopted by Chinese companies in this project will effectively drive the Chinese phosphorous chemical industry and related Chinese equipment to go global, and create a model project of Sino-Egyptian production capacity cooperation.