In the presence of the British Ambassador in Cairo, Gareth Bayley, Helwan Fertilizers Company, under the leadership of Engineer Hassan Abdel-Aleem, signed a contract with SML Company for the Black Urea project

Under the auspices of the Egyptian Society of Engineers, the Society of Chemical Engineers organized a symposium entitled “Process Safety in Industrial Projects,” attended by Eng. Hassan Abdel Aleem, President of Helwan Fertilizers Company and former Secretary General of the Engineers Syndicate, in the presence of Eng. Osama Kamal, former Minister of Petroleum and President of the Egyptian Society of Engineers and Chemical Engineers.

Engineer Osama Kamal, President of the Egyptian Society of Engineers and Chemical Engineers, said that this symposium comes within the framework of the series of seminars and specialized lectures launched by the Society in partnership with many expert houses and engineering companies, both Egyptian and international, through which it is keen to host a group of the most prominent scientists and people with expertise in Various engineering technical fields.

Fertilizer industry in Egypt 

Kamal stressed that the leaps will return to the Egyptian industry as it was and with strength, pointing out that workers are the most important people in that system, adding that this is why the symposium on process safety in industrial projects that we are discussing came about, considering that occupational safety leads to a stable environment. Work and workers and maintain the elements of production.

He stressed the importance of spreading the culture and behavior of occupational safety and health in society, because of its major role in preserving human capital, equipment and production tools, which greatly affects the prosperity of the national economy, pointing out that the goal of the symposium is to spread this important culture among society. In order to transform it into a life behavior and a living reality for every individual in his home and work environment, considering that occupational safety and health is not just equipment and adherence to instructions, but rather a behavior for every individual who lives by it, coexists with it, and interacts with it.

For his part, Engineer Hassan Abdel Aleem, President of Helwan Fertilizers Company and former Secretary General of the Engineers Syndicate, said that the Egyptian Society of Engineers was founded about 26 years before the Engineers Syndicate, pointing out that the Syndicate and the Society are two sides of the same coin and each complements the other in order to serve engineers and the engineering profession in particular. Serving the Egyptian state in general.

He added that Egypt is a leading country in the fertilizer industry after it was an importing country late last century, in addition to being one of the most important fertilizer exporting countries, pointing out that the chemical and petrochemical industries play a decisive role in our national economy, in our exports, and in meeting the needs of our Egyptian society, as they produce The basic materials we depend on in our daily lives, from medicines to plastics, fertilizers, etc., but with this vital role comes a major challenge, which is ensuring the safety of people, operations, and the safety of assets.

Abdel Aleem considered that Egypt’s transformation into a fertilizer exporting country came as a result of modernizing and increasing factories, and consequently local productivity increased, as 7 factories were established: Egyptian 1 and 2, Helwan, Mopco, Abu Qir 3, and Alexandria Fertilizers, all of which are factories of the same model, which gives us a very big advantage. Because any factory needs spare parts that can be obtained from a sister factory, and we extend our hands to all sister factories, noting: These factories played a major role during the Russian-Ukrainian crisis that occurred in 2022 and the resulting very large increase in prices as a result of Russia’s cessation of Exporting fertilizers and gas, revealing that this crisis resulted in a greater role for Egypt in exporting fertilizers, as it opened many markets.

Abdel Aleem explained that Helwan Fertilizer Company owns only one factory that has been operating for about 17 years, and its productivity increased over the past year to reach 690 thousand tons of urea and 429 thousand tons of ammonia, noting that the company exports half of the produced quantity and the second half is transferred to the local market from associations and companies. The sister company is at half the cost, to serve the sector and the Egyptian state.

The President of Helwan Fertilizers revealed that his company signed contracts a month ago to establish a melamine factory using the latest international technologies to support development plans, stressing that the project is the first of its kind in Egypt and Africa and the second in the Middle East.

"Abdel Aleem" explained the company's intention to open this factory at the beginning of 2026, stressing that the goal of establishing this project is to produce about 60 thousand tons annually by consuming about 258 tons per day of urea solution in order to cover the local market of melamine and export the rest to the foreign market to bring in currency. The difficult one.

The Chairman of the Helwan Fertilizer Company stressed that process safety is not just a technical issue, but rather a humanitarian issue because it affects the lives of workers in factories and the environment surrounding us. If we do not take the necessary measures to advance process safety, we are putting the lives of people and communities at risk, pointing out that Process safety management is a set of interconnected approaches and principles for managing sources of risk related to various industrial processes in all sectors, such as the petroleum and petrochemical sector, to protect individuals and prevent major losses or any environmental damage.

He continued that these principles work to prevent or reduce those major accidents that include unintentional catastrophic leaks of toxic, reactive or flammable chemicals or that lead to an explosion, adding: As industrial facilities have become larger and more complex, which has led to increased risks. Operations, which requires a more comprehensive and deeper approach to managing these risks and mitigating their severity, explaining that these approaches consist of organizational and operational procedures, design directives, and audit programs, in order to work to prevent or reduce these incidents or mitigate their severity.

In turn, Engineer Amr Abdel Hafez, Director of the Operations Safety Department at Helwan Fertilizers Company, reviewed some incidents resulting from negligence in the process safety management, such as the massive chemical accident that occurred in Bhopal, India, nearly 40 years ago and cost thousands of lives, as a result of the leakage of thousands of tons of gases. Toxic substances from Union Carbide's pesticide plant.

Abdel Hafez explained that Helwan Fertilizers Company is the first Egyptian company to join the Chemical Process Safety Center of the American Society of Chemical Engineers and is the only Egyptian company in the organization, pointing out: This membership gives the company many advantages and benefits, such as participating in technical meetings and workshops and obtaining copies of Publications, documents, bulletins, references and technical guidance, stressing that the company will make all meetings and workshops available to the Egyptian Society of Engineers to present them in the form of scientific courses to all its members.

Engineer Farouk Al-Hakim, Secretary General of the Egyptian Society of Engineers, said that the current period that the Society is experiencing is full of scientific activities and events, which represent the most important components of the scientific service that the current Board of Directors always seeks to provide, whether to the engineer or to the Egyptian public in its various segments, in order to build an educated Egyptian person capable of confronting challenges. Futurism.

Al-Hakim noted that the Egyptian Society of Engineers was established about one hundred and three years ago, and a celebration is scheduled to be held for this occasion at the end of this year. He explained that the first president of the society was appointed by royal decree by King Fouad I, which reflects the state’s appreciation for the engineering profession and the Egyptian engineer. .

Dr. Mustafa Hadhoud, Secretary General of the Society of Chemical Engineers and former Governor of Beheira, said that the new council of the Egyptian Society of Engineers has restored its spirit again and it has become a platform for the Egyptian people after it remained a dead body for many years, stressing that the fertilizer industry in Egypt is one of the most successful industries and helps in exporting At least about $4 billion annually, which is a major achievement for those in charge of manufacturing fertilizers of all kinds.

Engineer Farouk Al-Hakim, Secretary-General of the Egyptian Society of Engineers, and Dr. Mustafa Hadhoud, Secretary-General of the Society of Chemical Engineers, participated in the symposium, in addition to a group of engineers and a large number of engineering college students.