Two subsidiaries of Italian engineering contractor, Maire Tecnimont, have been awarded a lumpsum engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build a polypropylene (PP) plant for SOCAR Polymer in Azerbaijan.

Under the contract, worth around €350 million, Tecnimont and KT-Kinetics Technology will carry out engineering and construction services and supply equipment and material for the project at the Sumgayit Petrochemical Complex, near Baku. The PP plant will have a capacity of about 180,000 t/y and will source propylene feedstock from the existing naphtha cracker.

Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Maire Tecnimont, said: "We are eager to support SOCAR, one of the key players worldwide in the hydrocarbon industry, to further develop the downstream sector in the country with this strategic initiative, since this is the first polypropylene plant to be realized in Azerbaijan."