Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Corporation (Adbic) today unveiled Abu Dhabi Polymers Park, the UAE’s first industrial cluster committed to the plastic conversion industry. The park will encompass 4.5 sq km of land and draw an investment of $4 billion, it said.

Adbic is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi government’s General Holding Corporation.

The park will host around 50 plastic product manufacturers, and is set to have conversion capacity of no less than one million tonnes per annum, of which the majority will be exported, said a statement.

Regional polymer production capacity is expected to double to 33 million tonnes by 2011, and the park is uniquely placed to take advantage of the increase in raw material availability, it said.

The park will host tenants that convert a wide variety of polymer resins into end products for the packaging, original equipment manufacturing, construction and infrastructure segments including value added goods such as pipes, cables and intermediate blow moulded containers.

“The Abu Dhabi Polymers Park will offer investors unparalleled value added services making Abu Dhabi the ideal location for global plastic converters. Tenants will benefit from competitive long-term lease rates, utilities and quality labour, access to a secure supply of raw material, and state of the art onsite logistics and technical centresm,” said Hussain Al Nowais, chairman of Adbic.

“The emirate of Abu Dhabi is strategically focusing its resources on diversifying its economy and building a strong manufacturing base. Adbic acts as a catalyst in establishing an industrial base that will compete globally, and the Abu Dhabi Polymers Park is a prime example of this initiative.”

Abu Dhabi Polymers Park is attracting both regional and international plastic converting manufacturers who are poised to take advantage of the growth of regional polymer supply, and will deliver best in class technology and industry expertise. The Park’s proximity to international trading routes is expected to spur the interest of those organisations looking for an export base from the UAE, Al Nowais said.

The Park is located just 20 minutes from Abu Dhabi city centre and will be 40 minutes from Khalifa Port, the new world scale industrial and container port. Throughout 2009, initial tenants are expected to start up their operations. By 2012 Abu Dhabi Polymers Park is expected to reach full occupancy.

Abdullah Al Darmaki, vice president for petrochemicals at Adbic, added: “Abu Dhabi is uniquely placed to become a world centre for plastics conversion with ready access to raw materials and export routes. By launching this park we plan to extend the local value chain for petrochemicals and encourage innovation in end-product plastic manufacturing.” –TradeArabia News Service