Two new petrochemical facilities are due to come online in Egypt between now and mid-2016 as part of the Ethylene and Derivatives Company’s (Ethydco) Ethylene Derivatives Complex, according to sources close to the project.

The complex’s ethylene plant, which will have a capacity of 460,000 tonnes, is currently entering the commissioning phase according to one source.

Both the ethylene plant and the complex’s polyethylene plant, which will have a capacity of 400,000 tonnes, are expected to be online by mid-2016 according to sources.

The facility in Alexandria will be the largest producer of ethylene and polyethylene in Egypt.

A consortium consisting of the Egyptian state-controlled industrial engineering company Enppi and Japan’s Toyo Engineering won the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project in April 2013.

The complex will ultimately consist of a butadiene plant and a polybutadiene plant in addition to the ethylene and polyethylene plant.

The ethylene and polyethylene plants were expected to come online in early 2015 but have seen delays. It is not known what has caused the delays.

Ethydco’s Ethylene Derivatives Complex is part of an Egyptian Petrochemical Holding Company (ECHEM) 5-year refining and petrochemical spending plan that is worth $14bn.

The spending plan was announced at the Egypt Economic Development Conference in March 2015.