Egypt has proposed three petrochemical projects to the UAE for a total investment of $540m, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Petroleum. The projects included establishing a factory to produce bio-ethanol from molasses, the output of which would reach 100,000 tonnes of molasses annually, with investment in the project totalling $250m. The project would be implemented in the next fiscal year (FY), according to the ministry's plan. Another proposal focused on building a factory for the production of bio-ethanol from rice straw, with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes of rice straw produced per year. The investment in this project would be $240m and would be implemented through the FY 2016/2017, the official said. The third project would increase polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production, used in making pipes, with the target implantation date as FY 2016-2017. Close to 40,000 would be produced annually, while the investment in the project is estimated at $50m. The UAE has expressed its willingness to invest in the petroleum sector and is currently evaluating which project to go forward with in the coming period, the official said. The previous government had introduced a package of investment projects to the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, in a variety of fields before Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi was elected president. The proposed projects involved establishing refineries and plants across various regions, including Ain Sokhna, the North Coast, Alexandria, and Upper Egypt. These included a number of petrochemical projects and research initiatives for the exploration of mineral wealth. Egypt received grants worth $9.8bn from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait during the last fiscal year, which went towards shipments of fuel, oil, diesel, liquefied natural gas (LPG), and gasoline.
