Egypt: Agreement signed for petrochemical complex

Despite Egypt’s continued political instability, a consortium of Italy’s Maire Tecnimont and the Netherlands’ Archirodon Group has signed a contract worth up to $1.95bn with Carbon Holdings for utilities and offsite facilities as part of the Tahrir petrochemical complex in Ain Sokhna. Carbon Holdings, founded by Basil El-Baz, is a privately owned Egyptian company which develops and operates downstream oil and gas projects. On completion, the Tahrir complex is expected to boost Egypt’s annual exports by more than 25%. The contract is for engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning activities worth between $1.7bn and $1.9bn.