The unit will have capacity of 300,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of LDPE and is to be situated in the olefins 6 complex, taking feedstock from the 500,000-t/y ethane cracker. EPC bids are due by mid-May, but the deadline is expected to be extended. When the project was last launched, the competition came down to Italy's Tecnimontand LG Engineering & Constructionand Daelim Engineering, both of South Korea. This time, more companies are expected to show interest. When first proposed, the project had a budget of $200 million.

Simorgh was a 45:55 joint venture between NPC and Europe's Basell. However, the partnership was dissolved last year.