A flurry of fresh agreements with our EU partners: European firms inked a whole lot of agreements with their Egyptian counterparts during the two-day Egypt-EU Investment Conference that wrapped up yesterday. Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly took the stage at the end of conference and told the audience that 29 agreements and MoUs had been signed over the event totalling EUR 49 bn with EU-affiliated entities. On top of this, a further six agreements and MoUs with non-EU-affiliated entities that export to the EU inked a further EUR 18.7 bn.

TL;DR: The two-day conference brought together over 1k private sector players from both sides and officials including President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and EU Commission Head Ursula von der Leyen. We’ve also got all the development finance updates from the conference you need to know in the news well, below.

ENERGY-

It’s not an Egyptian investment conference without fresh green hydrogen agreements, and this conference was no exception, with investments in the sector bringing in the biggest investments.

Remember: Renewable energy and especially green hydrogen targets are central to the economic strategy for President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s third term, which outlines plans to turn Egypt into a regional hub for green hydrogen production by 2026 and a global hub by 2030. The country aims to produce 3.2 mn tons of green hydrogen per year by 2029 and 9.2 mn tons per year by 2040.

#1- Four energy players link up to set up a USD 15 bn green hydrogen project: Our friends at renewables firm Infinity Power, Hassan Allam, UAE’s Masdar, and global energy giant BP will set up a USD 15 bn green hydrogen project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone under an agreement inked yesterday during the conference, Infinity Chairman Mohamed Mansour told Enterprise. The project, currently in the feasibility studies phase, will be fully operational in ten years time.

#2- A EUR 24 bn green hydrogen facility in Gargoub: An international consortium led by Belgian energy firm DEME Group will set up a green hydrogen and green ammonia plant in the Port of Gargoub’s industrial zone after the firm inked an agreement with the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) and the Alexandria Port Authority, according to separate statements from the cabinet and the company.

#3- USD 10 bn green ammonia project in East Port Said: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE and DAI Infrastructure signed a USD 10 bn agreement to set up a green ammonia project at East Port Said, DAI Infrastructure Vice Chairman Mourad Sami told Enterprise. Dubbed Ra, the project will include a USD 4.4 bn ammonia facility and a USD 5 bn renewable energy facility to power the ammonia plant, Sami added. Once fully operational, the East Port Said facility will have a production capacity of 2 mn tons per year and is expected to bring in USD 2 bn each year, Sami told us, adding that DAI will break ground on the project in Q1 2026.

Who else is on the project? Several European groups and financial institutions, including Greek shipping firm Naftomar — which will provide shipping services and take off some of the project’s production — are co-investors with DAI on the project, according to Sami. Sami confirmed to Enterprise that most of the funds will be secured from the US and Europe, with Allianz credit ins. subsidiary Euler Hermes providing export credit agency coverage.

#4- A EUR 7 bn plant by EDF + Zero Waste: Egypt's NREA and the Red Sea Ports Authority signed an agreement with France's EDF Renewables and Egyptian-Emirati firm Zero Waste for a EUR 7 bn three-phase green hydrogen and ammonia project at Ras Shoukair, according to a cabinet statement. The EUR 2 bn first phase of the project aims to produce 1 mn tons of green ammonia annually with the production earmarked to supply ships with green fuels and for exports.

#5- USD 4.3 bn green ammonia facility in Ain Sokhna: Abu Dhabi-headquartered OciorEnergy has inked a USD 4.3 bn agreement with the SFE to develop a green ammonia plant at the Port of Ain Sokhna, according to a cabinet statement. The plant will primarily cater to European markets, addressing the growing demand for sustainable ammonia.

#6- Another USD 3.5 bn green ammonia project at Ain Sokhna: A consortium of Taqa Arabia and France’s Voltalia will build a USD 3.5 bn green ammonia project at Ain Sokhna, under another agreement inked with SFE.

#7- Inching closer to the Orascom-Scatec-Fertiglobe green hydrogen plant: The SFE inked a binding offtake agreement with Orascom Construction, Scatec, and Fertiglobe to produce 100 MW of green hydrogen from its Ain Sokhna plant, according to a statement. The plant kicked off a trial phase in November 2022 and aims to produce some 13k tons of green hydrogen a year, which will be used to create green ammonia at Fertiglobe’s ammonia plants. Solar and wind power plants, with a combined capacity of 270 MW, will be set up to power the plant. Fertiglobe will buy the plant’s production of green ammonia for the coming 20 years — marking the world’s first long-term green ammonia purchase agreement, SFE boss Ayman Soliman said.

#8- Green ammonia production in Damietta: The Egyptian Petrochemical Holding Company, and Misr Fertilizer Production Company (Mopco), along with Norwegian firms Scatec and Yara International, will produce green ammonia in Damietta with initial investments of around USD 890 mn, according to a cabinet statement. A seawater desalination plant and a maritime terminal will be set up to export the production from the Damietta port, with operations expected to begin in 2027. The parties will produce around 150k tons of green ammonia annually in Mopco’s factories before selling it to Norway’s Yara.

#9- And on the solar energy front: Danish wind turbine manufacturing giant Vestas wants to set up a USD 600 mn production facility in Egypt to manufacture wind turbines, according to a Trade Ministry statement. The green energy company will soon start preparing a feasibility study for the project and begin looking for sources of funding.

Vestas is no stranger to Egypt’s renewables sector: The Danish company spearheaded a consortium that signed a EGP 4.3 bn agreement with the NREA back in 2020 to construct a 250 MW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez, which began a trial operation last November.

MANUFACTURING-

El Araby Group to invest USD 500 mn in Quesna complex: El Araby Group will invest USD 500 mn in an industrial complex in Menoufia’s Quesna in partnership with Taiwanese company Rechi, Japan’s Sharp, and another Japanese company, CEO Mohamed El Araby told Asharq Business.

It’s been in the works for some time now: We’ve first heard of El Araby’s plans to set up its second industrial complex for household appliances in Quesna back in 2021.

AND- El Araby partners with Germany’s Heller: El Araby Group inked an MoU with German home appliance manufacturer Heller signed an MoU to manufacture its products using local components, according to a cabinet statement. El Araby will start manufacturing the components needed for Heller products during 4Q 2024 with investments of EUR 70 mn over the first three years of manufacturing.

WATER-

German firm wants to manage our drinking water plants: German water utility firm Bamag submitted a proposal to manage and operate a number of drinking water plants in Egypt via a private-public partnership, a cabinet statement said.

COMMUNICATIONS-

WE-4iG joint venture for high-speed fiber networks: Telecom Egypt (WE) inked a MoU with Hungarian telecom company 4iG Group to develop and operate a joint venture for building and managing fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and fiber-to-the-tower (FTTT) networks, with a total investments of at least USD 600 mn, a cabinet statement said. The JV aims to create a state-of-the-art, high-speed fiber network reaching around 6 mn residential and commercial units in Egypt, with a focus on expanding and modernizing Egypt’s non-active fiber infrastructure to enhance the country’s digital connectivity.

The international press also covered the conference: Reuters | Associated Press.

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