Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) has selected South Korea’s Daelim to build an estimated $400m petrochemicals plant at Jubail.

Once it formally wins the contract, Daelim will build a 300,000-tonne-a-year (t/y) ethylene dichloride plant and a 250,000-t/y caustic soda plant by the end of June 2012.

Ethylene dichloride is a key component in the manufacture of vinyl chloride, which is used to make the plastic polyvinyl chloride. Caustic soda is an industrial cleaner used to make paper.

Four South Korean contractors bid for the petrochemicals project in mid-September. The other bidders were GS Engineering & Construction, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Samsung Engineering (MEED 18:9:09).

The client on the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal is Arabian Chlor Vinyl Company, a 50:50 joint venture of Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) and Sahara Petrochemical Company. Both firms are based in the kingdom.