US-based automation company Emerson Process Management has been selected to provide automation technology and services for the Egyptian Tahrir Petrochemicals Complex (TCP) in a deal the company says is worth an estimated $150m.

The $6.9bn TPC scheme, which is being developed by the local company Carbon Holdings, is Egypt’s biggest-ever petrochemical project.

It includes the construction of a 1.5 million tonne-a-year (t/y) ethylene cracker and a polyethylene facility with capacity of about 1.4 million t/y.

Other major products will include propylene, polypropylene, hexene, butadiene, benzene, and styrene.

When completed it is expected to be the largest naphtha cracker plant in the world.

Under the deal Emerson will apply best practice technologies and services to help ensure the facility is completed on time and within budget.

Services include consulting services, equipment health monitoring, and the provision of a local service centre.

Designed to serve both local and export markets, TPC will be constructed in Egypt’s Suez Special Economic Development Zone, with raw materials received and products shipped from the Gulf of Suez.

Financing for the mega-project is expected to come from the export credit agencies of the United States, Korea, Italy and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, as well as direct investors.

In a statement released on 13 January Emerson said it would make also make a preferred equity investment in TPC as part of the deal.

Carbon Holdings started work on TPC one year before the 2011 uprising. Originally, it was expected to be completed in 2017, but due to delays caused by the revolution and subsequent turmoil, the main construction contractors have yet to deploy.

Carbon Holdings is currently targeting commissioning in 2020.