Continuing growth in the construction industry coupled with favourable government policies will drive Saudi Arabia’s PVC (polyvinyl chloride) market to reach $892 million by 2020, a report said.

Rigid as well as flexible PVCs are vastly used in the construction industry in the form of PVC pipes, window profiles, cables, flooring, and other components, explained the recently published 'Saudi Arabia PVC Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020' from TechSci Research, a global market research and consulting company.

Additionally, PVC is also used in apparels in the form of synthetic leather to create a leather-like material. PVC fabric is less expensive than leather and is water-resistant, so it is being increasingly used in coats, skiing equipment, shoes, jackets, aprons, and bags.

Saudi Basic Industries Cooperation (Sabic) holds absolute dominance as the largest producer and supplier of PVC resin in Saudi Arabia, the report said.

Other players operating in the country's PVC market include Arabian Plastic Compounds (APC), Interplast, AlRajhi Industrial Group, TIB Plastic Industries, Middle East Specialized Cables Company (MESC), Bahra Cables Company, Al Thinayyan Holding Group and Intergulf-Empol, with their focus mainly concentrated in the production of PVC compounds.

The expansion of construction industry and upcoming infrastructural developments in the Central and Western regions of the country is boosting the demand for PVC.

Government initiatives towards encouraging active private sector participation in major infrastructure projects through public private partnership (PPP) and build-operate-transfer (BOT) models, as well as setting up of industrial parks and clusters for plastic conversion in the Central and Western regions is anticipated to significantly benefit the PVC market in Saudi Arabia.

"Saudi Arabia's PVC market is set to show promising growth over the next five years on account of various ongoing and upcoming infrastructural developments in the country,” said Karan Chechi, research director, with TechSci Research.

“Major players such as Sabic have started incorporating backward integration to counter the fluctuations in prices of feedstock and volatility in crude oil prices. Moreover, in-house compounding is another trend noticeable in the Saudi Arabian PVC market," he added. – TradeArabia News Service