PDH Polska, a subsidiary of Polish chemical company Grupa Azoty, has signed a lumpsum turnkey contract with Hyundai Engineering for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the Polimery Police project, which comprises propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and PP plants.

Located at Police, in northwest Poland, the PDH unit will use Honeywell UOP’s Oleflex technology while the PP plant, which will have a capacity of 437,000 t/y, will be based on Grace’s Unipol process. The project is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2022.

PDH Polska said the South Korean contractor’s bid was the one most closely meeting its requirements. It had approved Hyundai as a pre-selected bidder in on Mar. 19. The other bidders tendering for the project were two consortia, one led by Technip Italy and another by Tecnimont.

The project also includes a handling and storage terminal and logistics infrastructure, which are also part of Hyundai’s contract. PDH Polska expects that the total cost of the project will not exceed €1.2 billion, although the company has budgeted around €1.5 billion. The value of the contract for Hyundai is €993 million.

“Polimery Police is of strategic importance to the Polish economy. Poland will turn from a net polypropylene importer into its exporter,” said Wojciech Wardacki, president of Grupa Azoty’s management board, adding that PP market condition are “more than favourable,” as the EU is undersupplied.

According to Wardacki, Poland’s annual PP output is around 290,000 t/y, versus demand of nearly 700,000 t/y. He anticipates exporting a portion of PDH Polska’s surplus output to “receptive” western markets.