Fitch Solutions said in a report that the projects implemented in the petrochemical sector enhance Egypt’s desire to become a regional hub for oil and gas trade, given its strategic location.

Fitch indicated that the production of the petrochemical sector in Egypt amounted to 3.34 million tons during the fiscal year 2020/21, in which the sector achieved a revenue growth of 50% on an annual basis, according to data from the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

The agency stated that the new projects implemented by Egypt in the petrochemical sector include the methanol derivatives project in Suez with investments of $119 million, the Egyptian bio-ethanol project with investments of $112 million, the Red Sea Petrochemicals Complex project in Ain Sokhna with investments of $7.5 billion, which aims to add 3.7 million tons per year to the petrochemical production capacity, and the El Alamein Petrochemical Complex with investments of $8 billion and a production capacity of 4.7 million tons per year of petrochemicals.

It confirmed that the Egyptian exports of chemicals witnessed an annual growth of 11% on average during the period (2015-2020), with the value of exports increasing from $3.1 billion in 2015 to $5.2 billion in 2019.

However, exports declined by 11% in 2020 to reach $4.7 billion due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade.

Fitch indicated that the Egyptian economy is likely to achieve sustainable growth with the transition from dependence on imports to orientation towards exports; with the locally manufactured products have become more competitive abroad, and it is likely that several companies will expand their industrial activity in Egypt and benefit from the good logistics and access to regional markets.