Abu Dhabi-based petrochemicals producer Borouge has begun construction of its fifth polypropylene unit (PP5) within the Borouge 3 plant at the Ruwais refinery, it has announced.

PP5 will bring 480,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of polypropylene production capacity onstream upon its commission in the third quarter of 2021, raising Borouge’s total polypropylene capacity by more than 25 per cent to 2.24 million t/y.

The unit will contribute towards Borouge’s target of growing its "total polymers production capacity by almost 11 per cent to reach 5 million tonnes a year", with a focus on the manufacture of household and food-grade plastics that can be reused and recycled, a statement read.

Borouge, the joint venture of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Austria’s Borealis, awarded the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the plant to Italian contractor Maire Tecnimont in July.

Borealis will be implementing its proprietary Borstar technology at the PP5 unit, making it the 10th unit in Ruwais running on the Borstar patent.

Maire Tecnimont handled the EPC for all three Borouge 1, 2 and 3 polyolefin complexes, completed in 2001, 2010 and 2015, respectively, the latter being worked on in joint venture with Samsung Engineering.