Lenders compete to fund EgyptAlum’s USD 3 bn alumina facility

International lenders are competing to fund the USD 3 bn alumina refinery Egypt Aluminum (EgyptAlum) is building with Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) — the largest alumina refining and production facility ever built in Egypt, EgyptAlum Managing Director Mahmoud Agour tells EnterpriseAM. EgyptAlum will fund half of the estimated cost of the project — around USD 1.5 bn — with the financing structure open to review at a later date.

The Alba partnership agreement was signed back in September, but has seen some delays tied to regional developments, Agour says. EgyptAlum already secured land in Safaga near the port to support export logistics and is working through formal procedures and licensing. “Construction and production startup should take around three years once all procedures are complete,” Agour tells us.

Why is this important? Egypt has no functioning alumina refineries and currently imports the raw material to feed the Naga Hammadi smelter, which has historically left Egyptalum exposed to global alumina pricing and shipping cycles.

The bigger picture: Together with the Trafigura-backed smelter expansion announced earlier this month and a new 600k-ton greenfield EgyptAlum is negotiating in East Al Tafreah with Gulf and foreign investors, the Alba agreement could lift Egypt’s total aluminum production capacity to around 1.2 mtpa from roughly 300k tons today, Agour says.

The green hedge is also advancing. Norwegian firm Scatec is close to completing the first 500 MW phase of its 1.1 GW solar project in Naga Hammadi — critical for keeping EgyptAlum’s exports competitive as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism kicks in.