Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company RSC Ltd (TA’ZIZ) and Reliance Industries (RIL) have formed a joint venture that will invest more than $2 billion in a chemical production facility at the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone in Ruwais, UAE.

The joint venture will construct and operate a chlor-alkali, ethylene dichloride (EDC) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production unit, Reliance Industries said in a statement.

Representing the first production of these chemicals in the UAE, the project will enable substitution of imports and creation of new local value chains, while also meeting growing demand for these chemicals globally. The TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and ADQ.

Strategic partnership

The project builds on ADNOC and Reliance’s long-standing strategic partnership and is Reliance’s first investment in the MENA region. The joint venture agreement was signed in the presence of Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, and Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director, Mukesh Ambani.

“This joint venture marks a major milestone in ADNOC’s downstream expansion and the development of the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone. It will help strengthen domestic supply chains, drive in-country value and accelerate the UAE’s economic diversification, in line with the leadership’s wise directives,” said Al Jaber.

“We are happy that we will be setting up the first project in the vinyl chain in the UAE at TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone, which is being developed into a global hub for chemicals. India’s need for PVC to propel its growth, and the value from the abundantly available feedstock in UAE, provides a win-win partnership for both companies,” Ambani said in a statement.

Investor interest

The JV agreement builds on the significant interest in TA’ZIZ from local and international investors in recent months. TA’ZIZ comprises three zones — the first is an industrial chemicals zone that will host chemicals production, with seven world-scale projects already in the design phase. The second is a light industrial zone, which will be home to downstream conversion industries that will convert the outputs of the chemical zone into consumable products and, finally, an industrial services zone that will house a variety of companies providing the necessary services required by the TA’ZIZ industrial zones and the wider Ruwais Industrial Complex.

The Ta’ziz Industrial Chemical Zone projects are currently in the design phase with project start up targeted in 2025.

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