RIYADH: The Saudi International Petrochemical Company said Wednesday it awarded a SR3 billion Saudi ($800 million) contract to design and build a new petrochemical plant to South Korea's GS Engineering and Construction Corp. The news comes a day after Sipchem said its board approved the issuing of a SR1.5 billion Islamic bond which would be used to fund new ventures. The bond is scheduled to be issued in the first quarter of 2011, after the company secures the necessary regulatory approvals. The new plant, which is slated to be operational in the second quarter of 2013, will produce 200,000 metric tons of ethylene vinyl acetate and low-density polyethylene. The design, equipment procurement and construction contract was signed with Sipchem affiliate International Polymers Co. and is part of the parent firm's third expansion phase, the company said in a statement on its website. The deal marks another step by Saudi Arabia to boost its industrial sector and diversify its economic base away from the crude oil that provides the brunt of the country's export revenues.
