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Egypt: A land with a remarkable sense of purpose

Evonik Country Africa

Reading Time 3 min

November 18, 2024

Egypt’s historic heritage captivates people from all over the world—largely because it leaves many questions open, such as those concerning the construction of the pyramids. But one thing is clear: The Egyptians are characterized by a remarkable sense of purpose, whether they’re constructing a canal cutting straight through the country or erecting a new metropolis. Evonik too is firmly established in this environment

By Pauline Brenke

View of the entrance to the Temple of Hatshepsut with the rock face above it. — One with the cliff: The funerary temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Nahari, to the north of the city of Thebes, is an architectural masterpiece. This three-story temple made of limestone impresses visitors with its terrace-like architecture embedded in rugged rock. Hatshepsut, who was a queen and subsequently a pharaoh, ordered the temple to be built in the 15th century BC. As a woman she was excluded from the line of succession to the throne, but she nonetheless usurped the title of Pharaoh and ruled for about two decades. According to the records, her reign was distinguished by successful commerce, a flourishing economy, and countless public works projects—and is known as one of the brilliant periods of Egyptian history.

View from an elevated position through the library with numerous bookshelves. — Welcome to the world’s largest reading room! The Bibliotheca Alexandrina has space for 2,000 people, 360 computers, and eight million books. This building, which was officially opened in the harbor of Alexandria in 2002, also houses a planetarium and four museums. It was modeled on the Great Library of Alexandria, which was built in 288 BC. At that time it was a place of concentrated knowledge. Today, plans call for its modern successor to amass a new wealth of knowledge. An estimated 1.5 million books currently fill the library’s shelves. Some of them owe their existence to Evonik, because the company makes products for the manufacture ofhigh-quality printing inks, as well as hydrogen peroxide for bleaching paper.

A man lifts a wire grill over a wood-burning grill. There are ten roast chickens in the grill. — Egyptian cuisine is a meeting point for influences from the Near East, Africa, and the Mediterranean region. The basic ingredients are very simple. They primarily consistof legumes, vegetables, grains, and naturally spices such as cumin and cardamom. Many traditional Egyptian dishes are vegetarian. Although meat plays an important role in Egyptiancuisine, it is used rather sparingly in daily life. However, lamb, beef, chicken, and pigeon are served on special occasions—and grilled in the form of kebabs or köfte, for example. In sectors including chicken farming, amino acids from Evonik help to boost productivity sustainably while taking animal welfare into account.

Aerial view of the high-rise buildings of the new administrative center — The New Administrative Capital (NAC) of Egypt is under construction on a site located 45 kilometers east of Cairo. Construction on the site, which covers 270 square kilometers, began in 2016. After the city is completed, it will have about 6.5 million inhabitants. A large proportion of the government institutions have already moved here from Cairo. The goal of this mega-development project is to mitigate the traffic congestion and environmental pollution of Egypt’s previous capital. The Central Business District (CBD, shown in the photo), with office facilities, stores, hotels, and apartments, is partly finished. For the construction of the new district, Evonik delivered approximately 300 tons of the concrete additive Sitren AirVoid®, which can be used to control the air content and the size of the air voids in construction material in order to facilitate processing.

The front half of an enormous container ship in the Suez Canal. In front of it, a pier and a stretch of water can be seen. — Container ships like this 300-meter-long exemplar from the Danish shipping company Maersk traverse the Suez Canal by day and night. This artificial waterway, which is 193 kilometers long and was completed in 1869, connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. Beforeits completion, ships from northern and western Europe had to use the route around the southern tip of Africa, which is about 6,000 kilometers longer. The canal has developed into one of the world’s most important trade routes and also plays a crucial role in the Egyptian economy. In 2023 alone, nearly 26,500 ships carrying about 1.5 billion tons of goods were en route here. Thanks to marine coatings from Evonik, freighters and tankers are ideally protected for use in saltwater.

A first in animal nutrition

Evonik has been operating in the Near East and Africa for the past 60 years. The company’s office in Cairo, Egypt’s capital, was one of its first in the region. It was initially opened in 1964 as a liaison office for the Animal Nutrition business line. Today it’s a facility with 22 employees from eight units that serve agriculture, the oil and gas industry, and the paint and coatings industry.

Eine Karte von Ägypten mit Standort des Evonik-Büros in Kairo

At 1 location, Evonik has 22 employees

The Evonik office in Cairo

In 2023, Evonik's office in Cairo opened.