Egypt to localize pharma raw materials production with Sokhna plant

Arab API’s USD 165 mn factory, now under construction in Ain Sokhna, could help curb Egypt’s hefty import bill for pharma raw materials, according to a statement from the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone). The joint venture between local pharma players Egyptian International Pharma Industries Company (Eipico), the Arab Company for Drug Industries and Medical Appliances (Acdima), and the SCZone is expected to produce 350 tons of cephalosporin a year and fill a USD 250 mn hole in the country’s import bill, according to an earlier statement from project partner Eipico.

Why it matters: The Egyptian Drug Authority’s celebration last May of achieving a 91.3% self-sufficiency rate for pharma products — the figure is likely a bit higher now — is deeply reliant on imported raw materials. True localization, as we’ve seen in the country’s auto industry and others, requires onshoring substantial chunks of the production chain. Today, Egypt imports some 90% of the raw materials used in pharma production. The country once viewed self-sufficiency through a Nasserist lens — today, targeting it in key sectors is a mechanism to help cope with FX volatility and supply chain shocks.

** Want more? We took a deep look at the Egyptian pharma sector’s localization drive and pricing shake-ups in an Inside Industry published late last year. Tap or click here to check it out.

Saudi Aramco deepens its US LNG push-

Aramco locks in US LNG volumes: State-owned Saudi Aramco has inked a long-term agreement with the US LNG developer Commonwealth LNG to supply 1 mtpa of LNG, with an option to double to 2 mtpa, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The agreement follows Aramco’s string of US LNG offtake moves in 2025 and comes as part of its plan to become a major LNG player in the US –– where export capacity is set to nearly double over the next four years.

DATA POINT- The Saudi giant has highlighted its ultimate aim to market 20 mtpa of LNG globally, with 4.5 mtpa already in progress.

Sokhna’s RSCT officially launches-

Commercial operations at the 1.7 mn TEU Red Sea Container Terminal I (RSCT) at Ain Sokhna Port officially began on Thursday with the arrival of Iron, a CMA CGM vessel carrying some 13k containers from Beirut. The facility — operated by a global consortium including Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports, France’s CMA CGM, and China’s Cosco Shipping — launched trial operations last month, adding 1.7 mn TEU in annual capacity to Sokhna Port.

What’s next? Hutchison Ports’ USD 1.6 bn investment plans in Egypt move north in 2027, when a second terminal at Dekheila Port in Alexandria comes online, courtesy of its consortium with MSC.

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