Minister of Public Enterprises Sector, Hisham Tawfik, said that Egypt produces 7.8 million tonnes of nitrogen fertilizers and 2.4 million tonnes of phosphate fertilizers annually, while the local production of ammonia nitrate amounted to 1.1 million tonnes in 2020.
During his speech at the opening of the urea and ammonia nitrate factory on Tuesday, Tawfik stated that there are nine plants involved in the production of urea, including two private sector companies, and the rest are state-owned companies. KIMA plant was one of the main elements of the fertilizer industry in Egypt. The investment cost of the project amounted to EGP 11.6bn and it was financed through a reasonable financial leverage. The value of the project’s capital amounted to 38% and long-term bank loans amounted to 62%.
Tawfik explained that four plants were established to produce ammonia. They are: Helwan, El Masreya, Misr Fertilizers Production Company (MOPCO) and Alexandria. He went on to explain that KIMA plant started production since the 1960s, and soon became one of the most important pillars of the industry; however, due to the increase in electricity consumption and its high cost, the plant was converted to operate with natural gas to produce urea instead of ammonia nitrate.
Tawfik added that the trial production of the plant started in April 2020 and the final delivery was two months ago.
The Minister also explained that the plant produces 1,200 tonnes of ammonia per day. In addition, the company presents 55% of its production to farmers at a price of EGP 4,500 per tonne, noting that there are other projects for the Chemical Holding Company, including a study of establishing a new unit instead of “KIMA 1” with a capacity of 600 tonnes of ammonia per day.
“In Talkha, a new ammonia unit with a capacity of 1,200 tons per day is being established. In Suez, an ammonia plant with a capacity of 1200 tonnes per day is under construction,” he added.
On the other hand, the head of the public business sector revealed that his ministry is seeking to offer an additional share of KIMA, and that this step will come as soon as a boom in the company’s profitability is achieved.
