The plans have been known for a while and on 23 June 2011, the Egyptian-Indian Polyester Company (EIPET) laid the foundation stone for its new 420,000 t/y PET resin (bottle grade) plant located in Ain Sokhna / Egypt, near the Suez Canal. The works are scheduled to be completed in December 2012. EIPET is a joint venture between India’s Dhunseri (Calcutta; www.dhunseritea.com) group, which owns 70% of the shares, Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding (ECHEM, Cairo / Egypt; www.echem-eg.com), which controls 23%, while the remaining 7% are in the hands of Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industry (ENPPI, Cairo / Egypt; www.enppi.com/enppihomepage.html).

Some 80% of the new plant’s output is destined for export, with the remainder earmarked for the Egyptian market. The reasoning behind the high export quota is the reduced delivery time to European markets especially. Indian mother company Dhunseri Petrochem & Tea (Haldia; www.aspetindia.com), which manages the Egyptian project, has been operating a 200,000 t/y PET line in Haldia for several years already and plans to commission another 210,000 t/y line in March 2012. The engineering contractor is Oerlikon Barmag (Pfäffikon / Switzerland; www.oerlikon.com), which also oversees the Egyptian project.