Ta’ziz said the agreement unlocks new opportunities for Shaheen and UAE manufacturers, enabling private sector growth and capability development. Shaheen is the first private UAE company to partner with Ta’ziz as a standalone investor. It also follows investment agreements between Ta’ziz and eight UAE-based investors in December 2021, a move that marked the first domestic Public Private Partnership in Abu Dhabi’s downstream and petrochemicals sector.

“This strategic agreement further consolidates Ta’ziz’s position as the sought-after partner for local and international investment in the UAE’s chemicals industry,” said Khaleefa Yousef Al Mheiri, Ta’ziz acting CEO. “The partnership supports our national strategy to drive the growth and diversification of the country’s industrial base, strengthen domestic supply chains and enable the private sector to “Make it in the Emirates”, in line with the leadership’s wise directives.”

The Ta’ziz industrial chemicals zone is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and ADQ. More than $2 billion will be invested to produce chemicals in the UAE for local manufacturers, replacing imports and also exporting to meet growing global demand.

Shaheen’s managing director Walid Azhari said the chlor-alkali/EDC/PVC project will be “the cornerstone for many exciting downstream opportunities which will create a whole new industrial cluster in the UAE, in line with the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030.”

The Ta’ziz scheme will comprise three zones. The first – the industrial chemicals zone – comprises seven world-scale projects that are already in the design phase. The second is a light industrial zone where output from the chemicals zone will be converted into consumable products. The third zone will host various companies that will provide the industrial services required by Ta’ziz and the wider Ruwais industrial complex.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist