The Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority (SCZone) and Qatari company Al Manaa Holding signed a contract on Sunday, December 14, for the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Sokhna.
The project, which marks the first Qatari industrial investment in the SCZone, involves a total investment of $200 million (approximately 9.6 billion Egyptian pounds).
The facility will be developed on a 100,000-square-meter site within the Sokhna Integrated Zone. The plant is expected to reach an annual production capacity of 200,000 tonnes of SAF.
Walid Gamal El-Din, Chairman of the SCZone Authority, noted that the production of SAF is critical for sustainability, as it is expected to reduce harmful emissions by 50 percent to 80 percent compared to conventional jet fuel. The end products will include high-voltage oxygen (HVO), biopropane, and bio-naphtha, which are to be extracted through the refining of used cooking oils.
Al Manaa Holding has already secured a long-term supply contract with the multinational Shell Global to purchase the entire production output. Deliveries of the sustainable fuel are slated to begin by the end of 2027.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly welcomed the project, describing it as an important addition that “strengthens the Economic Zone’s capacity to adopt renewable energy sources.” He emphasized that the contract signing, which coincided with the Egyptian-Qatari Business Forum in Cairo, “demonstrates the positive development of relations between Cairo and Doha.”
Abdulaziz Al Manaa, CEO of Al Manaa Holding, highlighted the depth of relations between the two countries, noting that continued political support is the driving force behind the project’s success. According to Egyptian Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El-Khatib, Qatari investments in Egypt currently stand at approximately $3.2 billion, spread across over 266 companies.
AK/Sf/fss/abj/APA