Egypt’s Carbon Holdings has secured an agreement with one of the four export credit agencies expected to provide financing worth between $4-5 billion for its massive Tahrir petrochemicals project, its chief executive Basil El Baz said.

The $7-billion scheme at Ain Sokhna at the southern end of the Suez Canal will be one of the largest petrochemicals projects in Egypt and is projected to increase by about 50 per cent the amount of such products made by the North African country in the first 10 years after becoming operational.

Tahrir’s construction has been delayed  and El Baz said that work is now expected to begin at “the back end of this year” and last for about 48 months. 

Other petrochemical projects with links to the main scheme have progressed much further. A polypropylene plant had been online since September and a $570-million ammonium nitrate facility is expected to be fully operational in July.

El Baz was speaking as International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced a $25-million investment in Carbon Holdings, aimed at further developing Egypt’s petrochemicals industry.