State-owned Egyptian Sugar and Integrated Industries Company (ESIIC) is looking into setting up a USD 400 mn bioethanol production plant at its Kom Ombo facilities, Managing Director Salah Fathy told Al Mal. The project will be implemented in partnership with Italy’s Eni and Proger and co-financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Technical and financial studies are still underway.

The details: The factory, which will process sugarcane waste (bagasse) into 1.2 mn tons of bioethanol annually, will operate as an independent unit within the Kom Ombo sugar complex. ESIIC will contribute the land plot, while Eni will handle energy and petrochemical marketing. Surplus production will be earmarked for export, although the local market will remain the primary focus of the project.

There’s more: ESIIC is also looking to produce bioethanol from sugar beet at its Abu Qurqas plant, targeting 1.2 mn tons in annual production, Fathy added.

Adding to the pipeline: The Egyptian Bioethanol Company is carrying out a USD 112 mnproject to use molasses produced by local sugar companies to produce 100k tons of bioethanol annually. Another bioethanol project that uses molasses in the production of renewable fuel that can be mixed with gasoline to reduce carbon emissions from vehicles is also in the works.

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