India plans to triple its investments in Egypt

India plans to triple its investments in Egypt

 India plans to triple its investments in Egypt, and a new economic zone in Suez aims to raise them to $12 billion

Indian Chargé d'Affaires in Cairo, C. Sushma, said that her country aims to more than triple its investments in Egypt over the next few years.

India's plans are driven primarily by private sector companies, as well as government-owned companies working to capitalize on the growth potential in Egypt and India, which is ranked among the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Sushma said that the volume of trade exchange with Egypt will reach $5 billion by the end of 2025, compared to approximately $4.2 billion last year, and efforts are underway to increase it to $12 billion over the next few years.

Massive Investments in Fertilizers

Sushma revealed ongoing discussions between Egypt and India to establish a new phosphate processing plant in Ras Ghareb, Red Sea Governorate, with the aim of meeting the Indian market's needs for phosphate produced locally in Egypt. This is part of bilateral cooperation plans to strengthen partnerships in the mining and fertilizer sectors.

Sushma indicated that a consortium of three Indian government-owned companies and a major private company operating in the fertilizer and mining sectors is considering implementing a massive investment project in Egypt worth up to $500 million. The project focuses on phosphate production and quality improvement, in addition to the possibility of establishing a plant to produce phosphoric acid or diammonium phosphate (DAP).

"Discussions began about a year ago, and there is strong interest from the Egyptian side. However, the project is still in the negotiation phase and the final signing has not yet been completed," Sushma said. Last April, the consortium held meetings with Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi, in addition to meetings with several major Egyptian companies specializing in the sector.

She also indicated that the Indian company Indorama is currently investing approximately $600 million in a phosphate fertilizer production project in Ain Sokhna, in cooperation with the Egyptian Phosphate Company. The plant is scheduled to begin operating within two years, with an annual production of up to 600,000 tons of mono- and diammonium phosphate.

She noted that the Egyptian market has witnessed a strong presence of several prominent Indian investments, including TCI Sanmar Chemicals, one of the largest Indian investments in Egypt, with a total investment of $1.5 billion, along with the global Uflex Group, which has invested approximately $500 million in the local market.

New Projects

The Indian Chargé d'Affaires added, "We seek to expand our investments in Egypt, particularly in the smart transportation and modern infrastructure sectors. Many companies have also shown increasing interest in participating in metro line projects, long-range freight corridors, and smart city development, in addition to cooperation in the field of electric vehicles, which is one of the issues currently being discussed with the Egyptian government."

Sushma revealed the imminent announcement of a new project in the field of smart vehicles, in addition to studying new cooperation opportunities in the fields of fifth-generation (5G) technology and fiber optic networks.

In the renewable energy sector, Sushma stated that two Indian companies, Renew Power and OCIOR Energy, plan to invest approximately $12 billion in Egypt to build solar and wind power plants. This energy will be used to power green hydrogen plants, both to meet local demand and for export to Europe.

In December 2022, OCIOR Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with the Egyptian government to implement a project within the Suez Canal Economic Zone to produce green ammonia using green hydrogen, with investments estimated at approximately $4.2 billion.

Indian delegation next June

According to Sushma, an Indian delegation comprising approximately 50 companies will visit Egypt next month to discuss the possibility of establishing an Indian economic zone within the Suez Canal Economic Zone. They will also discuss ways to reach agreements that will facilitate the investment climate between the two countries, enhancing cooperation between startups from both sides to launch businesses in both Egypt and India.

She added that other Indian delegations are expected to visit Egypt before the end of this year, given the momentum of growing economic relations. She emphasized that regional tensions, including the conflict with Pakistan, will not affect Indian investments in Egypt. On the contrary, there are plans to increase them to $12 billion in the coming years.

According to Hassan El-Khatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, the number of Indian companies operating in the Egyptian market is approximately 55, with investments exceeding $3.75 billion, distributed across various sectors, including industry, chemicals, energy, and information technology.

Discussions to Increase Airline Numbers

Discussions are currently underway between Egypt and India to increase the number of flights between the two countries. The current number of flights is approximately eight per week, divided between four flights from Cairo to New Delhi and four from Cairo to Mumbai, according to the Indian Chargé d'Affaires in Cairo.

She commented that this number does not match the size of the market, given that India has more than 100 airports. She also noted that there is significant interest from the Indian side in increasing direct flights from various Indian cities to Egypt, which would boost tourism between the two countries. She noted that approximately 120,000 to 130,000 Indian tourists visit Egypt annually, while approximately 80,000 Egyptians visit India annually. This number does not fully reflect the tourism activity between the two countries, given the large number of Indians visiting other countries and Egyptians traveling to international destinations.

She noted that the ideal solution to increase this number is to significantly increase the number of flights between the two countries, as India has expressed its full willingness to expand the flight network.

She emphasized that the Indian airline AKASA Air has obtained permission from the Indian government to begin flights to Egypt, opening the door to further opportunities to enhance air traffic between the two countries. Therefore, it is important for the Egyptian government to encourage all airlines to begin operating direct flights to Egypt to stimulate tourism.