A new fertiliser plant is to be constructed in Cairo after the Egyptian firm Helwan Fertilizer Company (HFC) announced a deal with the construction outfit Uhde GmbH.

The German firm will establish a fertiliser complex, with work beginning immediately on an ammonia/urea plant.

The deal marks the third contract this year for identical fertiliser complexes, with the new complex capable of producing 1,200 tonnes per day of ammonia and 1,925 tonnes per day of urea.

"The new contract is the successful continuation of a long partnership between Uhde and the Egyptian industrial sector and a sign of Uhde's leading world position in the design and construction of large-scale fertiliser complexes," commented Uhde's Dr Wolfgang Essig.

The complex will be located in Helwan, around 30 km south of Cairo, and is due to start production in mid-2007.

Catalysts for the plant - typically used downstream in the exhaust to remove unreacted ammonia/urea and other pollutants - will be supplied by Johnson Matthey.