Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, and New Valley Governor Hanan Magdy recently attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the Abu Tartour phosphoric acid plant project, which was contracted to a consortium including CSCEC, marking the official start of construction.

Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi (sixth from right) attends the groundbreaking ceremony.

Badawi called the project an important step in upgrading Egypt's mining industry, saying it will help make better use of the region's phosphate reserves, address gaps in the country's phosphate-based chemical supply chain, and improve the overall quality and efficiency of the mining sector.

Karim Badawi speaks with CSCEC project management staff about construction progress.

At the ceremony, Badawi and Magdy toured the project's overall site layout and construction area and met with management teams of the project's construction parties and general contractor.

A rendering of the Abu Tartour phosphoric acid plant project.

The Abu Tartour phosphoric acid plant is located in Abu Tartour, New Valley, in southwestern Egypt. The project's first phase includes a commercial-grade phosphoric acid production unit with an annual capacity of 250,000 tonnes, a supporting sulfuric acid unit with an annual capacity of 800,000 tonnes, and a full range of utility facilities. Construction is expected to take 35 months.