Dow Chemical has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for its planned reverse osmosis (RO) manufacturing facility at Saudi Arabia's Jubail Industrial City to Fluor.

The plant will be part of a mammoth €15 billion complex taking shape at the site of Dow's Middle East partner Sadara and due to come on stream by the end of 2015. Production units also are planned for LDPE, LLDPE and the polyurethane feedstocks MDI, TDI and polyether polyols.

The RO facility will manufacture high-tech elements that purify water for industrial and drinking uses, including a variety of Dow RO products such as its FilmTech brackish water RO elements and seawater RO elements. Output is earmarked for markets in the Middle East and Africa as well as Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, China and India,

"Fluor has demonstrated extensive knowledge and experience within this field and we are confident that the team will bring significant added value to the project," said Dow Saudi Arabia's president, Zuhair Allawi.