Bidders for the HDPE engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract include Germany's Uhde, Italy's Tecnimont, South Korea's Daelim Industrial Company and Japan's Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Company. An award is expected by the end of the year.

The contract is expected to be worth $300 million-350 million, although contractors say the scope of works could be expanded to include offsites and utilities for the whole complex. The plant will have capacity of 300,000 tonnes a year of HDPE and is due to come on stream in 2006.