CAIRO: The Egyptian private equity firm Citadel Capital has reported that it has secured an investor for $2.6 billion to finance a refinery project in the Greater Cairo area. Citadel said that the Egyptian Refining Company – of which Citadel has an 8 percent stake – signed the loan agreement to construct the $3.7 billion oil refinery, one of the continent's largest such projects. Last March, Citadel reported it had garnered some $900 million from the state-run Japanese Bank for International Cooperation as part of the efforts to shore up financing for the massive refinery project in the Egyptian capital. Output from the refinery will be sold to Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation for 25 years upon completion at prices matching market standards. The refinery will produce more than 4 million tons of refined products per year. Cairo-based Citadel controls $8.3 billion in investments spanning 14 countries and is looking to expand its investments in the Middle East and east Africa. BM
