Uhde wins contracts for two fertiliser complexes in Egypt

Following intensive negotiations with Egyptian authorities and two commercial fertiliser production companies, Egyptian Fertilizer Company (EFC) and Alexandria Fertilizer Company (AlexFert), Uhde GmbH, of Dortmund, Germany, has signed contracts with each company for the construction of a turnkey fertiliser complex. Work on these major projects will start immediately.

Both contracts are for ammonia/urea complexes, each with a capacity of 1,200 tonnes per day of ammonia and 1,925 tonnes per day of urea. They include all utilities and off-site units. The ammonia plants will be based on Uhde's proprietary ammonia process while the urea plants will be built according to Netherlands-based Stamicarbon's synthesis and granulation technology. The innovative Stamicarbon urea granulation technology will find its first world-scale application in these two new plants. All selected processes are particularly environment-friendly and comply with both the stringent Egyptian and European standards. The catalysts for the ammonia plants will be supplied by Uhde's renowned ammonia catalyst partner Johnson Matthey Catalysts of the UK.

The scope of supplies will include the entire engineering (basic and detail), supply of the equipment, construction and commissioning.

The EFC complex will be located at Ain Sukhna (near Suez) and the AlexFert complex at Abu Qir (near Alexandria). Both are due to start production in late 2006. With the urea fertiliser produced, EFC and AlexFert will serve both the domestic and export markets.

These two major contracts underline the excellent reputation enjoyed by Uhde worldwide in this field. After the recent contracts for plants in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Turkmenistan and Qatar, these two contracts will now be the fifth and sixth fertiliser complexes to be built by Uhde in Egypt and mark the successful continuation of a long-term partnership between Uhde and the Egyptian industrial sector. To further strengthen this sector, a large part of the supplies and engineering services will be rendered by local companies.