ASWAN: The Indo-Egyptian Fertilizers Company SAE (IEFC) signed a loan agreement worth $250 million with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank group, at the Cataract Hotel in Aswan Wednesday.
The loan will go towards financing the establishment of a phosphoric acid plant at Edfu, in the Aswan Governorate, which should be up and running by 2010.
Aswan is a rich source of phosphate rock, which when treated with sulfuric acid produces phosphoric acid, the primary component in the highly effective phosphate fertilizer.
The Edfu plant will produce approximately 0.89 tons of phosphoric acid solution annually at a yield of $250 million.
The companies behind the IEFC s project are the Indian Farmers Fertilizers Cooperative Ltd. (IIFCO), India s largest fertilizer producer with a structure of over 55 million Indian farmers, and its Egyptian partner El Nasr Mining Company (ENMC), from whose mines the rock phosphate will come.
Speaking at the signing ceremony Abdel Malek Farag El Sayed, Chairman of El Nasr Mining Company, expressed his delight that the project will be using 100% Egyptian rock phosphate, and believes it will establish the credibility of Egyptian rock in the international market.
The Governor of Aswan General Samir Yousef, who oversaw the ceremony, was more pleased by the opportunities the project will create in the Upper Egyptian region.
Apart from providing direct employment to about 350 people, and indirect employment to an estimated 800 more, most of the construction phase material will be sourced from local vendors. The transportation sector stands to gain as well given the vast quantities of raw material and product that will be moved by truck.
Moreover, Yousef said, It is a matter of pride for all the people of Egypt, especially of Upper Egypt that such a large project is being established in Edfu.
Chandra Srivastava, CEO of the IEFC, was one of the signatories to the loan agreement, and afterward spoke not only of his optimism for the project s success, but also of its commitment to the rural development of surrounding Edfu.
He also praised the IFC and the Commercial International Bank (CIB) Egypt for their assistance, and was hopeful that this latest deal will signal increased trade ties between Egypt and India, which currently amount to a combined total of just under $1 billion.
Regarding the parties involved in the deal, It is a win-win situation, he told The Daily Star Egypt.
I am sure that with the unrelenting efforts and hard work the IEFC team (they) will achieve remarkable results for the Project, he said.
