Egypt to build $228 mln facility to turn rice straw into wood
Egypt will set up a facility to convert rice straw into wood in a bid to limit air pollution resulting from burning the straw.
The $228 million plant, located in the Nile Delta’s Beheira Province, will produce 205,000 square meters a year of medium-density fiberboards (MDF), using technologies developed by German engineering firm Siempelkamp.
The project-related deal was signed on Thursday between newly-established state wood technology company WOTECH and state-owned oil firm Petrojet during an international energy conference in Cairo.
Burning agricultural waste, mostly rice straw, has for years posed a major environmental challenge and caused severe air pollution in the already highly-polluted country.
The plant will produce high-quality local products that will be used in various sectors like furniture, construction, and decoration.
The project is one of the effective solutions implemented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to support the state’s efforts to transform rice straw from an environmental challenge into an opportunity for economic exploitation and an added value.
