El-Nasr Company for Intermediate Chemicals' (NCIC) new fertiliser complex being built in Ain Sokhna in Egypt is on course for completion before the end of this year.

The new complex is located about 100 kilometres southeast of Cairo, close to an existing NCIC phosphatic and compound fertiliser complex that is already operational.

The $500m project is 90 per cent complete, according to information first obtained by MEED Projects.

The main contract for the project was awarded to the German industrial company Thyssenkrupp’s plant engineering business in 2019, which is executing the project in partnership with Egypt’s Petrojet.

The main contract used the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model.

The new fertiliser plant in Ain Sokhna is expected to produce up to 440,000 tonnes of ammonia, 380,000 tonnes of urea and 300,000 tonnes of calcium ammonium nitrate every year.

The plan is part of NCIC’s strategy to expand its product portfolio to include high-quality nitrogen fertiliser for local and export markets. Nitrogen is a key nutrient for plant growth and critical to industrial agriculture.