Egypt’s $873M Damietta green ammonia project enters FEED phase with 150,000 t/yr export target

Egypt’s $873 million Damietta Green Ammonia project has entered the front-end engineering and design phase, with pre-FEED studies for both the marine jetty and the hydrogen production plant already completed, marking the most substantive construction milestone the joint venture has reached since it was established.

The project is being developed by Damietta Green Ammonia, a joint venture among Norway’s Scatec, the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) and Misr Fertilizers Production Company (MOPCO). It is located in the Public Free Zone on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast and is designed to produce 150,000 tonnes per year of green ammonia for export, maritime fuel and industrial applications. The facility will be supported by up to 480 MW of renewable electricity and a 240 MW electrolyser array. Start-up is targeted for Q3 2028, subject to permitting and financing.

FEED work on ammonia export facilities is ongoing alongside the marine infrastructure design. Major permits and financing arrangements are still being finalized. The project has not disclosed the identity of its EPC contractor or its debt financing structure, and the Zawya news service has noted that both remain subject to ongoing negotiations.

In a parallel development, Abu Qir Fertilizers, Alexandria Fertilizers, Orascom Construction and a subsidiary of China’s United Energy Group signed a memorandum of understanding on May 20 to develop a separate green hydrogen-to-ammonia project at a New Damietta industrial site, signaling broader Egyptian ambitions to cluster green ammonia capacity around Mediterranean port infrastructure.

Egypt’s interest in green ammonia is driven by several factors: abundant solar and wind resources along its Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts, proximity to European buyers seeking post-2030 low-carbon ammonia imports under the EU’s CBAM framework, and a domestic fertilizer industry — anchored by MOPCO and Egypt Nitrogen Chemical Company — that could absorb green feedstock as conventional gas supplies tighten. MOPCO operates one of Africa’s largest urea complexes at Damietta.

Scatec, the Oslo-listed renewable developer and operator, has been pursuing green hydrogen and ammonia projects across Egypt and Sub-Saharan Africa as part of a broader strategy to monetize the continent’s renewable resource base. The Damietta project is among the further-advanced green ammonia developments in North Africa.

Source: BC Insight / CRU