China’s Sanfangxiang’s to start building PTA plant next month

SHANGHAI (ICIS news)--China's Jiangsu Sanfangxiang Group Co Ltd’s plans to start construction of 600,000 tonne/year purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant at Jiangyin, eastern Jiangsu province, from next month, a company source said on Tuesday.

The plant, with a total investment of around yuan (CNY) 2.8bn ($409.96m), would be operated by Sanfangxiang Group’s subsidiary Jiangsu Hailun Chemical, the source added.

"Feedstock will be mainly from the imports while the products will be supplied to our parent company Sanfangxiang Group to produce polyester products," the source said.

China’s economic planner, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), granted approval for the project on 23 December and construction work was expected to be completed in 2011, the source added.

"Once the start-up of the plant [is complete], it will reduce the parent company's dependence on external feedstock PTA," the source said.

Jiangsu Sanfangxiang Group Co Ltd is a major polyester producer with a nameplate capacity of 1.6m tonnes/year in eastern Jiangsu province, the company said on its website.