Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla conducted an inspection of the ongoing construction of the Suez Methanol Derivatives Plant at Damietta Port. El Molla emphasized the urgency of expediting this crucial project, a significant addition to Egypt's petrochemical industry as per its updated plan until 2040. He highlighted that the project's outputs, serving various plastics and construction industries, will cater to a substantial portion of the local market's needs, aligning with the country's unprecedented development projects.

During the visit to the Suez Methanol Derivatives Company (SMD) site, Chairman Hisham Selim presented the methanol derivatives project's alignment with the national petrochemical plan, establishing specialized entities in the industry. The project targets annual production of formaldehyde derivatives using methanol from Methanex Egypt, urea from MOPCO, caustic soda from the Egyptian Petrochemical Company, local sulfuric acid, and imported naphthalene to meet local demand and potentially export surplus.

The factory's production capacity is 140,000 tons annually, including 21,000 tons per year of liquid urea formaldehyde for urea fertilizer, 66,000 tons annually of liquid urea formaldehyde resin for furniture and wood manufacturing, and 53,000 tons yearly of sulfonated naphthalene formaldehyde for enhancing properties of ready-mixed concrete.