President Abdel Fattah El Sisi inaugurated a new phosphate and compound fertilizer manufacturing complex at the Ain Sokhna Industrial Zone yesterday, according to a local press report. The complex is said to be the largest in the Middle East and houses nine phosphate-based fertilizer factories. It contains a water desalination plant and a sea dock for exporting, as well as various administrative, accommodation, medical, and entertainment facilities, the Defense Ministry’s National Service Products Organization head Moustafa Amin said. The project was built by German construction outfit ThyssenKrupp at a cost previously estimated at USD 1 bn.