LSB begins construction of Portugal PTA plant

14 March 2008 01:27  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Spain’s La Seda de Barcelona (LSB) has begun construction of a 700,000 tonne/year purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in Portugal, the company said on Thursday.

LSB said it has laid the first stone of the €400m ($625m) plant in Sines.

One of the largest in Europe, the plant was expected to generate an annual turnover of €500m, the company said.

Construction will be completed by the end of 2009 and commercial production was expected to begin in the first quarter of 2010.

The plant will create 150 direct jobs and 200 indirect ones, LSB said.

The project “is designed to cover the current shortfall in the European market of PTA, the raw material of the company’s strategic product: PET [polyethylene terephthalate]”, it added.

“In the coming years, it is expected that demand for PTA in Europe will grow around 200,000 tonnes/year, LSB said. “The market is expected to increase around 8% in the long term.”  

LSB said the plant will use energy-efficient technology in order to cut energy costs by 25%.

($1= €0.64)

By: Brian Ford
+1 713 525 2653

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