Braskem to start construction at US PP plant in 2-3 months

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Braskem plans to start construction at its new polypropylene (PP) plant in La Porte, Texas, in the next two to three months, the CEO of the Brazilian polyolefins producer said on Wednesday.

Earlier, Braskem had said construction could start in mid-summer. The final phase of main construction has been targeted for the first quarter of 2020.

Braskem did not provide any more details about when construction could start on the project.

The company has already finished front-end engineering design (FEED) for the project, and it awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, said Fernando Musa, CEO. He made his comments during an earnings conference call.

“We are pretty advanced in detailed engineering and in the procurement phase, where most, basically all, of the long-lead items have already been purchased, the purchase orders have been placed,” Musa said. “We have started a couple weeks ago to purchase some of the bulk materials as well, that tend to be bought after you buy the long-lead items and the large equipment.”

Braskem has committed up to $675m towards the design and construction of the new 450,000 tonne/year PP project.

The company is calling the project Delta and is billing it as the largest PP production line in the Americas.