$658m Phosphoric Acid Complex Breaks Ground at Abu Tartour, With Exports Bound for a Red Sea Port
Officials laid the foundation stone for a $658m phosphoric acid complex in the New Valley producing 250,000 tonnes a year, with output targeted for export through a Red Sea port, Daily News Egypt reports.
19 August 2026
Egyptian officials laid the foundation stone on Wednesday for a **$658m** industrial complex that will process phosphate ore into phosphoric acid at the Abu Tartour plateau in the New Valley Governorate, with the output aimed at export markets through a Red Sea port, according to Daily News Egypt.
The facility is designed to produce 250,000 tonnes a year of highly concentrated commercial phosphoric acid, a key component in fertiliser manufacturing, the report said.
Daily News Egypt did not name the port that will handle the exports, identify the contractor or the operating company, or give a completion date or construction timetable for the complex.
Safaga is the Red Sea coast's phosphate export terminal, and the traffic is already visible from the quayside: Hurghada News has reported two bulk shipments out of Safaga Port in recent weeks — 44,000 tonnes of phosphate to India and 55,000 tonnes to Malaysia.
For Safaga, a processing plant at Abu Tartour would change what moves through the port as much as how much. Phosphoric acid is a liquid chemical cargo rather than dry bulk ore, and it is handled with different loading, storage and safety arrangements than the phosphate currently loaded there. Whether that means new terminal work at Safaga — and when — is not addressed in the report.