Abu Dhabi Polymers Park breaks ground on its first industrial plot

The first factory will host Bonar Emirates Technical Yarns LLC, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Corporation (ADBIC) and Low & Bonar PLC, the international performance materials manufacturer.

As part of its first phase, the joint venture, signed in April 2008, will establish a manufacturing plant for the production of artificial grass yarn - a fast-growing product segment within Low & Bonar's portfolio. Total initial investment in the joint venture to establish its business and production facilities is estimated at $25m.

Mohammed Hasan Al Qamzi, Senior Vice President of ADBIC's Abu Dhabi Polymers Park, said:

"We are very happy to see the first group of factory buildings being designed and built on time and according to our challenging plans. Abu Dhabi Polymers Park is a new concept for the plastics industry in the region focusing on providing value-added services specifically for plastics converters. Since the official launch in June this year, we have had very strong interest from both regional and international plastics converters."

Construction of the factory began in September 2008. Abu Dhabi Polymers Park is planning to construct three further factory buildings for leasing on the same industrial plot during 2009, for which total expected investment amounts to more than $27m.

"This new venture will give us a strong position in one of the largest potential markets for artificial grass and allow us to satisfy the significant growth in global demand. The Middle East is also one of the fastest growing areas for many of our other products such as specialist textiles used in civil engineering, where Low & Bonar already enjoys a world leading position. The local presence with such a high calibre partner will reinforce our position in these markets and create new business opportunities. It will also enable us to develop closer relationships with some of the world's largest polymer producers," said Paul Forman, Group Chief Executive of Low & Bonar.

Abu Dhabi Polymers Park is an industrial park spanning 4.5 km2 and is expected to generate up to $4bn of investments in the plastics conversion industry. With an expected total conversion of over 1 million metric tonnes of polymer per year, it will be the world's largest plastics conversion cluster. This will be another major step in the diversification of the UAE downstream petrochemicals industry, adding more value to oil and gas raw materials locally.