Egyptian Firms Sign Final Contracts with Chinese Consortium to Build Chemical Plant
The plant, which has an investment value of $658 million, will have the capacity to produce 250,000 tons of concentrated phosphoric acid in the first phase of the project, Egypt's petroleum ministry said in a statement.
Egyptian participants in the project include leading fertilizer producer, Abu Qir Fertilizers, state-owned Misr Phosphate and others.
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Asharq Al-Awsat
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Egypt-Israel Gas Deal Raises Questions over Mutual Dependence
Egypt's decision to extend and expand a multi-billion-dollar natural gas import deal with Israel has stirred debate at home, with critics questioning who benefits most from what has been described as one of the world's largest energy agreements. Israeli firm NewMed Energy, a partner in the Leviathan gas field, said earlier this month that it had revised its supply agreement with Egypt, extending it until 2040 in a deal worth up to $35 billion. Since 2020, Leviathan has supplied Egypt with 23.5 billion cubic meters of gas, according to the company. The announcement came as Israel's war in Gaza continues, deepening scrutiny over the agreement. Egyptian officials, however, say the deal is driven by economics, not politics. 'Egypt's economic agreements, whether with Israel or others, are based on national interests and returns,' a senior Egyptian official told Asharq al-Awsat. He said the deal secures cheaper gas supplies compared with imports from elsewhere, and supports Egypt's ambition to become a regional energy hub by re-exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly defended the arrangement last week, describing it as an extension of a 2019 deal, while the oil ministry issued a statement stressing it was 'a modification of an existing agreement.' 'The deal ensures medium-term supplies through the Sinai pipeline without the costs of liquefaction and regasification,' said energy exert Maher Aziz. 'It is not about who depends on whom, but about two neighbors securing each other's needs despite political rifts.' Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen hailed the deal during a visit to Leviathan alongside the US ambassador, saying it proved Israel's role as a 'strategic energy supplier' and underlined gas's role in regional stability. Egypt once exported gas to Israel via the Arish-Ashkelon pipeline until attacks in Sinai halted flows in 2012. Now the direction is reversed, with Israel piping gas to Egypt for liquefaction and re-export to Europe. Analysts remain divided over who benefits most. Some, like US-based economist Mostafa Youssef, argue Israel gains global market access through Egypt's LNG plants at a time when it faces political isolation over Gaza. Others say both sides have little choice but to keep energy cooperation insulated from regional turmoil. 'Energy ties reflect mutual dependence,' said Washington-based scholar Ahmed Hassanein Abdel-Maqsoud. 'Egypt gets competitively priced gas, while Israel relies almost entirely on Egypt's liquefaction facilities to reach European markets. That makes the deal indispensable for both,' he explained.
Asharq Al-Awsat
9 hours ago
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Guterres: Africa Could Become 'Renewable Superpower'
Africa has everything it takes to become a "renewable superpower", UN head Antonio Guterres said Thursday, as he called for greater investment in green energy across the resource-rich continent. Guterres spoke at a three-day development conference in Japan attended by African leaders, where Tokyo is offering itself as an alternative to China as African nations reel from a debt crisis exacerbated by Western aid cuts, conflict and climate change. "We must mobilize finance and technology, so that Africa's natural wealth benefits African people, we must build a thriving renewables and manufacturing base across the continent," Guterres said at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). "Green power in Africa lowers energy costs, diversifies supply chains and accelerates decarbonization for everyone." China has invested heavily in Africa over the past decade, with its companies there signing deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars to finance shipping ports, railways, roads and other projects under Beijing's Belt and Road global infrastructure initiative, AFP reported. But new lending is drying up, and developing countries are grappling with a "tidal wave" of debt to both China and international private creditors, the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, said in May. African countries have also seen Western aid slashed, in particular due to President Donald Trump's dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Guterres warned in his speech in the Japanese port city of Yokohama that "debt must not drown development" and that Africa needed increased concessional finance and greater lending capacity from multilateral development banks. He also urged greater investment in climate solutions. "Africa has everything it takes to become a renewable superpower, from solar and wind to the critical minerals that power new technology," he said. Attendees at TICAD included Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Kenyan President William Ruto. Ruto said on social media platform X that Kenya was in talks with Japanese automaker Toyota for the provision of 5,000 "e-mobility vehicles" as part of the country's "commitment to clean energy". In his opening address at the forum on Wednesday, Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced a plan to train 30,000 people in artificial intelligence in Africa over three years and to study the idea of a Japan-Africa Economic Partnership. Before the meeting kicked off, Ishiba also announced a vision for a distribution network that links African and Indian Ocean nations. Both Tinubu and Ramaphosa, speaking on X, said they wanted a shift from aid to investment partnerships.
Arab News
10 hours ago
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Africa could become ‘renewable superpower', says Guterres
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