Mashreq To Build First Refueling Station on Suez Canal

Egyptian joint-stock company Mashreq Petroleum Company is set to implement the first refueling station for ships on the Suez Canal Axis. With an investment of $500 million, the station is expected to be finished within three years, Director General of Planning Medhat Roshdi told Youm7 Tuesday.

Roshdi said the Pipeline Company affiliated with the Ministry of Petroleum is currently studying the total cost of the project. He said the company has already paid 200 million EGP (U.S. $28 million), adding that Egypt’s current instability has caused a delay in the project.

Last March, undersecretary of the Egyptian Qatari Business Council (EQBC) Tariq Hashish told Youm7 that the Mashreq Petroleum Company project was a Qatari project that was halted after Qatar withdrew investment from Egypt due to the nature of the soil.

“Another company will be running the project in cooperation with the Egyptian company Citadel Capital,” Hashish said at the time, adding that the company was scheduled to create four platforms for ship refueling, petroleum trading and maritime quays for freight on 210,000 square meters at a cost of 104 billion EGP (U.S. $14.5 billion).

Roshdi said Mashreq is currently addressing Port Said Port Authority to allocate more land in the Suez Canal Axis to expand the project, saying the current available space is 210,000 square meters. He said storage capacity for petroleum products including gasoline, fuel, oil and diesel is expected to reach 800,000 tons.

Roshdi said that the project will help in operating power stations and factories in the region, adding that the project seeks to refuel ships waiting at the Suez Canal in order to take advantage of the “unique position” of the canal, through which more than 20,000 ships pass annually.

Roshdi asserted that they are currently negotiating with the Petroleum General Authority to attain approval to construct 17 kilometers of pipelines to be connected with the National Network to transfer petroleum products, which he said will save time.

In January the Hazem al-Beblawy government selected 14 consortia tendered to participate in implementing the Suez Canal Development Project that aims to revive the Egyptian economy by building a new branch of the canal, Suez Canal Authority Chairman Mohab Mamish said Tuesday during the opening ceremony of the Axis project.

A global assessment office monitored the process of selecting who would implement the project. Out of 44 competitors, it was narrowed down to 14 contractors, Youm7 reported Mamish as saying during his speech.

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