Staff report: CAIRO, May 22, 2018 - Egypt and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Tuesday signed a US$200 million deal for developing the government-owned Suez Company for Oil Products, a senior Government official said. Investment and International Co-operation Minister Dr Sahar Nasr said that the agreement was aimed at improving the company's overall efficiency and the quality of its products. The agreement, which was co-signed by Dr Nasr and EBRD Natural Resources Management Sector Head Eric Rasmussen, is also aimed at turning the company into an environment-friendly facility. "The EBRD-supported project will help the company adopt a set of new technologies to reduce the level of its gas emissions, which are harmful to the environment and people's health," Dr Nasr said. Moreover, she continued, the agreement would help the company improve the quality of its products through the adoption of advanced technologies and modern equipment. In addition, the new technologies and equipment would help the company reduce its operational costs and hire more young workers, who would receive training in operating the modern machines, Minister Nasr added. Once completed, the EBRD-supported project would help Egypt become a regional hub for producing clean energy in environment-friendly conditions, she said. "The Ministry is keen on enhancing all the energy sectors and attracting more investments to the vital oil-related industries, now that the government has adopted economic reforms that offer a myriad of incentives to capital owners," Dr Nasr said. Oil Minister Tareq el-Mulla, who attended the signing of the loan agreement, said that the proceeds would be used for modernising the company's existing facilities and building a new cauldron. "These facilities include the company's main refinery, gas recycling plants, distillation centres and industrial safety sections," Minister el-Mulla said. "The EBRD-loan agreement will also help secure a steady supply of high-quality oil products and reduce imports. From now on there will be increased co-operation between the Ministry and the EBRD," the minister said. Mr Rasmussen said that he was happy to sign the legal documents of the EBRD-loan in Cairo and the agreement would help Egypt achieve its sustainable development goals. Later in the day, Minister el-Mulla and Mr Rasmussen held talks that focused on the possibility of more EBRD's involvement in implementing new natural gas ventures and building and equipping more facilities for fuelling cars that are run on natural gas.
