Construction work on QalaaHolding’s $3.7bn Mostorod New Refinery project is 50 per cent complete according to Hisham al-Khazindar the founder and managing director of the company.

Speaking at the Egypt Economic Development Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh Al-Khazindar said that the project is due to start production in 2017.

The refinery will crack heavy products produced in Egypt, producing lighter products including diesel and gasoline.

It is located 10km from Cairo and will cut Egypt’s diesel imports by half and cut gasoline imports by 40 per cent, according to Al-Khazindar.

Sulfur cuts

Egypt currently imports 40 per cent of its diesel requirements.

Qalaa Holdings says that the project will employ 700 permanent workers and create 10,000 construction jobs during the peak period of construction activity.

The refinery will produce diesel rated category five under the European classification system. This is less environmentally damaging than the fuels more commonly used in Egypt and could potentially lead to a 27 per cent reduction in sulfur emissions in Egypt, according to Qalaa Holdings.

Qalaa Holdings was formerly known as Citadel Capital.

Follow all the latest news from the Egypt Economic Development Conference