ABU DHABI // Borouge, the plastics producer, has completed 90 per cent of a US$5 billion (Dh18.3bn) plant expansion in Ruwais and is on track to start operations next year, the company's chief executive said yesterday. The move will more than triple the firm's output of polyolefins, a raw material used in plastics, to 2 million tonnes per year as Borouge looks to expand its presence in the Chinese and Indian markets, said Abdulaziz al Hajri.
"The outlook for polyolefins remains positive despite the unprecedented [supply surplus] and weakness in the global economy," Mr al Hajri said. A third-stage expansion, which will increase output to 4.5 million tonnes per year by 2013, will likely cost less than the second stage because of a drop in prices for contractors and raw materials, he said. "Even though Borouge 3 is much larger than both 1 and 2, we hope the investment cost will be lower than Borouge 2," he said.
The firm's initial plant, which produces about 600,000 tonnes per year, cost $1.2bn, he said. Borouge, a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Borealis, an Austrian firm, in July announced a $1.09 billion contract for the plant's cracker, its technological centrepiece. Mr al Hajri said the firm would tender a construction contract for the rest of the plant within 30 days. @Email:cstanton@thenational.ae
