Cairo – Mubasher: Canal Sugar Co, a subsidiary of UAE-based Al Ghurair Group, has acquired a 33% stake in a new sugar factory project in Minya, Egypt, Bloomberg reported.

Egypt’s investment minister Sahar Nasr stated at a press conference that the Emirati group is projected to pump $333 million investments into the factory, according to the news agency.

Egyptian companies, including Al Ahly Capital Holding, will hold the remaining stake, Nasr added.

The sugar factory will be built with a production capacity of 1 million tonnes per year at a cost of $450 million.

Given that the investment ministry has signed a cooperation protocol with the agriculture ministry to construct a sugar factory and reclaim 181.8 acres in the Upper Egypt governorate of Minya with a total investment worth $1 billion (EGP 17.68 billion).

The factory would create around 200,000 direct and indirect job opportunities, agriculture minister Abdel Monem El Bana said, adding that this project will lure investments to Upper Egypt.

Nasr noted that the plant would cover 80% of sugar production shortage, which in return saves foreign currency.