Afreximbank to start work on Egypt gold refinery this year

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) reportedly plans to start work on establishing a gold refinery in Egypt by year-end with investment of between $50 million and $100 million.

The refinery is expected to begin production in 2027 or 2028, Ayman Elzoghby, director of trade, investment and corporate finance at Afreximbank, told Asharq Business.

In December 2025 Egypt’s central bank and Afreximbank signed an agreement to set up a pan-African gold bank in Egypt.

The gold bank and refinery will transform Egypt into an international centre for the gold industry, Elzoghby said.

A site for the gold bank and final details are expected by the end of 2026.

The project is being developed in cooperation with global consultancy McKinsey, the report said.

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Cairo-headquartered Afreximbank financed several projects in Egypt during the first quarter of 2026, including injecting between $600 million and $700 million into the electricity and petroleum sectors and executing energy infrastructure projects.

Elzoghby said the North African nation had secured more than $40 billion in financing since the bank’s inception.

Egypt is the largest shareholder in Afreximbank.