Petrojet, Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry-owned national construction company, is preparing to sign a contract for work on a planned $6.7bn refining and petrochemicals complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

“Petrojet has a pre-agreement in place, but nothing signed yet. It’s expected that the contract will be signed soon,” according to a source.

State-owned Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (Echem) and US-based Bechtel signed a joint venture agreement to develop the refining and petrochemicals complex in February.

Under the terms of the deal, Bechtel will provide the financing from banks and international financial institutions.

Echem will conduct a detailed feasibility study for the project in cooperation with a global consultant.

The facility is expected to have a production capacity of approximately 900,000 tonnes of petroleum products and 1.2-1.9 million tonnes of petrochemical products a year.

The scope of the project is expected to include:

• Construction of a crude oil refinery
• Construction of a production unit
• Construction of a storage unit
• Construction of a central control building
• Installation of machinery and equipment
• Installation of associated facilities