By: AGBI

Egypt has awarded the first project in its mineral-rich “golden triangle” area, home to nearly half the North African country’s gold deposits.

The General Authority for the Golden Triangle Economic Zone signed a contract on Thursday with Elsewedy Industrial Development Company to develop an industrial and logistics zone spanning nearly 6 million square metres at the Red Sea port of Safaga.

Elsewedy will develop the zone in three phases under a masterplan aimed at establishing an integrated industrial and logistics base, the authority said in a statement.

“This base will focus primarily on mining and manufacturing industries related to mineral resources in the area, in addition to logistics, warehousing and services that support production and exports,” the statement said.

Egypt said in December last year that it was preparing a list of projects to offer investors in the 9,000-square-kilometre golden triangle area, involving $16 billion in financing over three decades.

It is called the “golden triangle” due to the shape of the area, its high economic value and its mineral wealth.

Elsewedy CEO Mohammed El-Qammah said the signing marked a significant step in the company’s drive to expand development in promising regions and transform the natural and logistical advantages of the triangle into diverse investment opportunities.

“We look forward to developing an industrial zone capable of attracting quality investments in mining, manufacturing and export industries by providing advanced infrastructure, integrated services and a sustainable operating environment,” he added.

The golden triangle, in southeast Egypt, is home to around 95 mineral deposits including gold, phosphates, copper, zinc, lead and limestone.

Gold deposits are officially estimated at 2,000 tonnes, nearly 40 percent of Egypt’s available reserves of the metal.

The area also contains around a billion tonnes of phosphates, more than half of Egypt’s reserves, as well as 1.5 billion tonnes of glass sand and 230 billion tonnes of limestone.

Petroleum and mineral resources minister Karim Badawi said in January that a Chinese company planned to invest nearly $2 billion to search for phosphates in the golden triangle.

The ministry would soon sign a deal with Hubei Xingfa Chemicals Group, one of the world’s largest phosphate producers, he said.