Egyptian Countryside Development signs contract with Nile Sugar for land reclamation in Western Minya – Dailynewsegypt
Amr Abdel Wahab, Chairperson and Managing Director of the Egyptian Countryside Development Company, responsible for implementing and managing the 1.5 Million Feddan Project, recently signed an investment contract with Nile Sugar Company. The agreement focuses on developing 14,000 feddans of land. Under this partnership, Nile Crops will establish an integrated project on the Egyptian Countryside Development Company’s lands in the Western Minya Extension area. The project includes large-scale sugar beet cultivation, aiming to produce white sugar alongside other crops.
During the contract signing ceremony, Abdel Wahab emphasized that this cooperation aims to attract local and foreign investments, fostering sustainable development. Nile Crops plays a crucial role in developing the 1.5 Million Feddan Project. By relying on sugar beet for sugar production, this initiative aligns with the company’s policy to create integrated projects that expand agricultural areas and promote related industries.
Expanding sugar beet cultivation is strategic due to its adaptability to desert lands and high-salinity soils. Unlike sugar cane, sugar beet consumes less water and doesn’t require fertile first-grade land.
The project supports Egypt’s Vision 2030 by optimizing water use, reducing import rates, and achieving self-sufficiency in sugar production. Nile Crops plans to establish agricultural processing facilities, further benefiting Egypt’s economy.
The decision to cultivate sugar beet prioritizes water conservation, given that the 1.5 Million Feddan Project relies on groundwater. Nile Sugar Company aims to supply the local market first, ensuring Egyptian food security for strategic commodities. Any surplus will be exported.
The CEO of Nile Crops Company expressed his delight in collaborating with the Egyptian Countryside Development Company, affirming the company’s commitment to advancing the project according to the specified timelines and utilizing all available resources and expertise for the project’s significant benefits to Egypt’s economy. He noted the company’s plans to establish agricultural processing facilities as part of its production activities, which will support agricultural operations and manufacturing, alongside livestock development activities.
Notably, the Sawiris family founded Nile Sugar Company in 2006 to build, manage, and operate a plant for extracting and refining sugar beet and its derivatives. In 2019, Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris announced that his company, Orascom Investment Holding, acquired Nile Sugar in a deal valued at EGP 3.7bn, propelling the company into executing numerous investment activities in the same field since then.