Thai polyester giant Indorama Ventures (IVL) has entered a joint venture with India’s Dhunseri Petrochem to own and operate a 540,000 t/y PET production facility belonging to Egyptian Indian Polyester Company (EIPET). The latter company is majority owned by the Indian Dhunseri.

This will be the second PET joint venture between the Thai and the Indian producers.

The companies plan to restart the currently idled plant in Egypt’s Ain Sokhna free trade zone northwest of the Gulf of Suez as soon as PTA feedstock can be shipped from IVL’s plant in Sines, Portugal. Alongside Egypt, target markets are the consumer beverage and packaging industries in North Africa and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

Indorama said the PTA plant, which it acquired late last year from the assets of bankrupt La Seda de Barcelona, will start producing again in July.  Beyond this, the company said it also will be able to source PTA from its plants in Asia as well as isophthalic acid from its facility in Spain and thus utilize its assets more efficiently.

Adding the new Egyptian capacity, which uses the same technology as the existing Indian joint venture of Indorama and Dhunseri, will lift IVL’s output capability by 10%. The two companies entered their first partnership in 2016, when the Thai company bought out the other partner in Dhunseri Petglobal.