EEI JV wins P11 billion contract in Saudi Arabia

MANILA, Philippines — A joint venture company, which includes the Yuchengco Group’s EEI Corp., has secured an P11-billion deal to build a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Al Rushaid Construction Co. Ltd. (ARCC), a joint venture between EEI and Al Rushaid Petroleum Investment Co. (ARPIC), signed last month a contract for the construction of Advance Polyolefins Industry Co.’s (APOC) PDH Plant, as well as its utilities and off-sites (UTOS).

EEI is an affiliate of the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC), while ARPIC is a prestigious holding company in Saudi Arabia with over 50 affiliate local and international companies mainly in the field of oil and gas.

The deal was forged with EPC Company Samsung Saudi Arabia Ltd.

Work started this month and mechanical completion is expected by November 2023, EEI disclosed.

ARCC will carry out the civil, building, steel structure, mechanical, tank, piping, painting, electrical and instrumentation works of the project for a total of 25 months.

A PDH plant is a facility that produces propylene by removing hydrogen from propane, while UTOS consists of water and air essential to plant utility production facilities that produce steam, auxiliary facilities, and water treatment facilities.

It will be producing propylene that will have a nameplate capacity of 843,000 tons per year, feeding two polypropylene plants of 400,000 tons per year each for production of specialty polymers by manufacturers of face mask, automotive, pipes, food packaging and textile industries, EEI said.

EEI president and CEO Roberto Jose Castillo said the new deal that ARCC has secured adds to the pipeline of domestic and overseas projects that EEI has won over the past few months despite the pandemic.

This year alone, ARCC has already secured seven projects on top of the contract signed in Saudi Arabia.

EEI, for its part, also recently secured a contract with Cebu Landmasters Inc. to build Masters Tower Cebu, a 40-story mixed-used building within the Cebu Business Park and another with SM Development Corp. for Sands Residences, a 52-storey tower in Malate, Manila.

“EEI Corp. maintains a substantial backlog of projects that is sufficient to sustain the business in the next three to five years. But what’s more important is that we are well-positioned to win more contracts as we continue to bid for mega infrastructure projects here and abroad,” Castillo said.