Invista Nylon Chemicals (China) has broken ground on its 400,000 t/y adiponitrile (ADN) plant being built at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP). The company is investing more than $1 billion in the facility, which will help meet growing demand for nylon 6,6 chemical intermediates, both in China and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

“With support from all parties, Invista has successfully initiated the construction of the ADN facility within 10 months,” said Ma Jing, director general of SCIP’s Administrative Committee. “The ADN project enriches the value chain of SCIP while accelerating the industrial upgrade of Shanghai’s chemical industry. SCIP will provide continuous services to ensure that the project will be completed as soon as possible to yield tangible benefits for the market.”

Jeff Gentry, Invista’s chairman and CEO, added that the continued optimization of the business environment in Shanghai had also given the company the confidence to continue investing there.

US contractor Fluor announced in February that it had won the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project, which Invista said is “well on track” to start producing ADN in 2022.

The plant will be integrated with Invista’s existing hexamethylene diamine (HMD) and polymer facilities, which will supply domestic customers directly with the key raw materials needed for making nylon 6,6 and other products used in the automotive and electrical/electronic industries, along with many other consumer and industrial applications.

The Kansas-headquartered fiber and intermediates producer has previously signed agreements with Shanghai Gas and Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Industrial Gases for the respective supply of natural gas and industrial gases.

Invista Nylon Chemicals’ storage and terminal partner Vopak Shanghai Logistics has also received key permits and was expecting to start site construction in early June.