ECHEM Targets $10bn Investment Across Eight Petrochemicals Projects
CAIRO — Egyptian Chemical Industries, KIMA, said export sales rose 25% to EGP 8.26bn in FY 2025/26 as revenue and profit reached record levels, while Egypt separately advanced a $10bn petrochemicals investment pipeline aimed at expanding higher-value manufacturing through 2030.
KIMA’s revenue increased 31% to EGP 11.23bn in the year ended June 2026, from EGP 8.60bn a year earlier, while net profit after tax climbed 82% to EGP1.79bn, from EGP987mn. Gross profit rose 29% to EGP 4.24bn.
The company said export sales increased to EGP8.26bn from EGP 6.61 bn, strengthening its foreign-currency contribution while it continued supplying nitrogen fertilisers to Egypt’s domestic agricultural market.
KIMA is also progressing KIMA 3, its planned nitric-acid and ammonium-nitrate project, alongside an ERP rollout and measures aimed at improving operational efficiency and meeting tighter international environmental requirements, including the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Gas availability remains an important operating variable for Egypt’s fertiliser industry. The Petroleum Ministry said regular supplies during 2025 and 2026 supported plant utilisation, production and exports, underscoring the sector’s dependence on reliable feedstock as companies expand capacity.
KIMA is separate from the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company, ECHEM, and is not part of ECHEM’s $10bn investment programme. KIMA is majority-owned by the Chemical Industries Holding Company, while ECHEM operates within the Petroleum Ministry’s petrochemicals framework. The two nevertheless represent parallel parts of Egypt’s drive to expand higher-value chemicals and manufactured exports.
Petrochemicals Output Reaches 4.6mn Tonnes as $10bn Pipeline Advances
Separately, ECHEM reported FY 2025/26 petrochemicals production of about 4.6mn tonnes, generating revenues of $2.6bn, including $1.8bn from exports.
Its companies shipped products to 50 countries, opening new markets including Spain, Brazil, Cyprus, Romania and Slovenia, while domestic sales reached $742mn. ECHEM estimated that converting natural gas and petroleum derivatives into higher-value products generated about $1.6bn in added value.
Under its 2026–2030 plan, ECHEM is pursuing eight strategic projects intended to localise 20 additional products. The programme targets annual production capacity of 6.5mn tonnes and about $10bn in investment, with projected annual revenues of as much as $7bn.
Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi has also directed the preparation of a five-year petrochemicals strategy aligned with efforts to raise domestic oil and gas production. The ministry expects planned connections between Cypriot gas fields and Egyptian infrastructure to provide additional feedstock for downstream industries.
KIMA’s export gains and ECHEM’s expansion plans point to a wider industrial objective: capturing more value from energy feedstocks through domestic processing, increasing manufactured exports and replacing selected imports. Delivering that strategy will depend increasingly on reliable gas supplies, financing and timely execution of the planned projects.
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