National Bank of Egypt (NBE) has signed a USD100mn loan with Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company SUMED. The loan will be utilised for financing a project to build a pier, storage and a trading centre for petroleum products in Ain Sokhna, Suez governorate. SUMED is half-owned by state-run oil company, Egyptian General Petroleum Corp (EGPC), while a group of four other Gulf Arab countries - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and Qatar - own the other half. The project involves two phases; the first is to build a pier with the length of 2 kms and with the depth of 19 metres, designated to receive terminals carrying petroleum products and LNGs. The second phase includes building a centre for receiving, storing, and trading butane and fuel oil. The first phase is scheduled for completion by March 2017. (Amwal Al Ghad)