ADEX inks Dhs22m deal to finance UAE’s Jenaan sugar refinery project in Egypt

Egypt-based Emirati firm Jenaan Pipes & Irrigation Systems has secured a Dhs22m ($6m) loan from Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) to import raw materials from UAE-based Borouge to manufacture and supply irrigation systems for a sugar refinery in Egypt.

ADEX is the export-financing arm of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) whose mandate to drive diversification and growth of the UAE export economy. ADEX provides direct financing and guarantees to overseas buyers from the public and private sectors seeking to import goods and services from UAE companies. Its funding and guarantees are designed to support national businesses across the UAE in non-crude oil sectors.

The amount will be used to fund Borouge’s export of polyethylene for the new Jenaan irrigation system, which will cover a 76,000-hectare reclamation and cultivation project on desert land. Borouge, a joint venture of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Borealis of Austria, is a manufacturer of polyolefins.

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Jenaan Pipes & Irrigation Systems (JPIS) will produce polyethylene pipes ranging from 32mm to 600mm in diameter for more than 700 pivot systems. The water will be drawn from wells drilled into the Nubian aquifer to irrigate land to produce 2.5 million tonnes of sugar beetroot annually.

The polyethylene extrusion plant provides Jenaan with a new manufacturing foothold in Egypt to expand across the MENA region while reducing shipping and logistics costs. The irrigation system will support a new beet farm and the refinery that will produce 900,000 tonnes of sugar annually, reducing Egypt’s reliance on sugar imports by 80 per cent.

“The accord exemplifies the vision behind the formation of ADEX as a strategic financing partner of national exporters so they can expand their operations abroad. That, in turn, will help the UAE to expand its export economy, a critical component of our national economic diversification strategy,” said Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of ADFD and chairman of the Exports Executive Committee of ADEX.

“As for the current agreement, it not only delivers economic impact for the two UAE companies, but it provides significant benefits for the Egyptian economy and food security needs,” he added.