Egypt has secured a US$500 million investment from Qatar to build a large-scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, authorities said Sunday, as the country seeks to position itself as a regional clean-energy export hub.
The agreement was finalised during a meeting between Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Abdulaziz Al-Mana, chief executive of Qatari conglomerate Al Mana Holding and chairman of Green Sky Capital.
The facility, to be built in the Sokhna area of the zone, will be the first industrial-scale SAF plant in Egypt and across Africa and the Middle East, officials said.
The project is designed as a regional export hub, with SAF exports projected to reach a value of $15 billion over the next decade.
The plant will produce jet fuel refined from used cooking oils, a feedstock increasingly favoured by airlines seeking to cut carbon emissions. Phase one of the project, backed by a US$200 million investment, will have an initial capacity of 200,000 tonnes per year, Al-Mana said.
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Once all three phases are completed, total production capacity is expected to reach 600,000 tonnes annually.
A long-term offtake agreement has already been signed with energy major Shell for the entire output, with the first export shipment expected within 18 months. Deliveries to Shell are scheduled to begin by late 2027.
The project is expected to create up to 2,000 direct jobs and more than 8,000 indirect positions, officials said.
Waleid Gamal El-Din, chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, said the government would provide full support for the project, which will also produce hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), bio-propane and bio-naphtha.
Background to sustainable aviation fuel hub in Egypt
Sustainable aviation fuel is seen as a key tool for reducing carbon emissions in the aviation sector, which faces mounting pressure to decarbonise as global air travel rebounds.
Airlines and fuel producers worldwide are racing to secure long-term SAF supply as regulators and industry bodies push for higher blending mandates over the coming decades.
Egypt has stepped up efforts to attract foreign investment into renewable energy, green hydrogen and clean fuels, leveraging its strategic location along major shipping routes and access to European, African and Asian markets.
The Suez Canal Economic Zone has emerged as a focal point of that strategy, offering tax incentives and infrastructure aimed at turning the area into a hub for energy-intensive industries and exports.
