The company Canal, which owns a controlling stake and is backed by Al Ghurair Group from the UAE, confirmed that its sugar beet factory is the largest in the world. The project has attracted an investment of around 1 billion dollars with plans to produce over 900,000 tons of sugar annually. Additionally, the company is involved in the development and reclamation of 181,000 acres of desert lands, where they will grow 2.5 million tons of sugar beets per year, along with other strategic crops like wheat, corn, and chickpeas. This information was reported by Egypt Today.
This project will help bridge the 75% gap between sugar production and consumption in Egypt, which currently stands at 1.1 million tons annually.
Furthermore, the factory will be able to replace sugar imports worth 900 million dollars per year and export by-products amounting to up to 120 million tons annually.
It's worth noting that the factory will produce white sugar. As part of the project, they aim to produce 216,000 tons of sugar beet pulp and 243,000 tons of molasses for export.
This project is the largest agricultural and industrial project in Egypt since 1952, encompassing the reclamation of a vast area of desert lands.
The Emirates have contributed to the capital of the Egyptian joint-stock company, Canal Sugar Company. They own 70% of the company's shares, split between Gamal Al Ghurair Group and Murban Energy company. Gamal Al Ghurair Group acts as the project's technical sponsor, while Murban Energy is the financial investor. The remaining 30% of the company's shares belong to Al-Ahly Capital holding company, a subsidiary of the National Bank of Egypt. According to the provided data, Al-Ahly Capital is the exclusive financial advisor to the project.
Canal Sugar Company was jointly established with the Emirati group of companies Gamal Al Ghurair, Al Ahly Capital holding company, the investment arm of the National Bank of Egypt, and Murban Energy Limited to implement the world's largest sugar factory project from beet on 240 feddans (100 hectares), as well as reclaiming and cultivating 181,000 feddans (76,000 hectares). The total investment in the project is approximately 1 billion dollars.
The factory will include the world's largest silo with a capacity of about 417,000 tons of sugar. The project has also made a significant contribution by creating 1,500 direct jobs and providing employment for around 50,000 farmers and other indirect workers.
