BY/ Hana Saada
ALGIERS- The headquarters of Sonatrach’s general management hosted a signing ceremony for the construction of a petrochemical complex in Arzew, along with an agreement for its financing. The Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab, and the CEO of Sonatrach, Toufik Hakkar, were present at the event.
The contract for the construction of the petrochemical complex was signed between Step Polymers Spa and JV Petrofac-HQC. This Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract involves the construction of a petrochemical complex spread over 88 hectares in the industrial zone of Arzew. The complex is intended for the production of 550,000 tonnes/year of polypropylene and is expected to be completed within 42 months.
The polypropylene production from this complex will cover the needs of the national market and export the surplus production to the European, Asian, and African markets. The contract was awarded on May 14, following a restricted international consultation, in accordance with the procurement procedure in force within STEP Polymers Spa.
The realization of this major project will create nearly 6,000 direct jobs during the construction phase, 450 jobs during the operation phase, and 2,000 indirect jobs. The project will adopt the norms and standards applied at the national and international levels in terms of environmental protection, with a vast program of planting trees and plant cover at the level of the wilaya of Oran.
Furthermore, a financing agreement was signed between Step Polymers Spa and the National Bank of Algeria as the leader. This agreement will allow 70% of the project to be financed, while the remaining 30% will be financed through equity.
