RIYADH, 12 August — An SR60 million project for the production of formaldehyde, a major feedstock used by the Kingdom’s petrochemical industry, will come on stream in Jubail by the end of next year.
This was disclosed to Arab News by Khaled Mohammed Al-Babtain, president of Al-Babtain Arabian Company who said a feasibility study conducted by the Doha-based Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) has already established its viability. The project, he pointed out, will mark a vertical expansion for the factory, which is already manufacturing melamine tableware made out of melamine molding compound.
"We decided to embark on this project to benefit from the fast-growing chemical and petrochemical sector. We also want to take advantage of the current economic climate following the liberalization of the Saudi economic environment," he observed.
Al-Babtain said the new project is intended to produce formaldehyde and some of its derivatives, such as UF-85, melamine and urea formaldehyde compound, melamine and urea resin, glazing powder and paraformaldehyde, to name a few.
One of the derivatives of formaldehyde is phenol used by the wood industry as an adhesive agent. Urea formaldehyde finds applications in the Gulf states as a fertilizer, while the chemical industry uses another of its derivative as a disinfectant. He said the plant’s initial manufacturing capacity would be 80,000 tons of formaldehyde per annum rising gradually to the installed capacity of 100,000 tons per annum. "The production capacity for other derivatives will vary, but we will source the feedstock from SABIC and certain private companies located in Jubail when they start producing them.
The project is the brainchild of Khaled Al-Babtain, a young entrepreneur who did his post-graduation from Bell, Norwich. It will be jointly financed by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (50 percent), a commercial bank and private shareholders (25 percent each).
"An intensive market research and feasibility study was conducted on this project. The survey also identified local and international demand for the products that are going to be manufactured at our plant. We assessed the local demand and looked at overcapacity in the international market and determined the advantages in setting up the project in Jubail," he said.
"The project will adhere to the highest international standards of safety and environmental protection. Moreover, its products will conform to the specifications of the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization
(SASO). In this context, Al-Babtain disclosed that some of the imported crockery entering the Saudi market is made of urea formaldehyde which is against Saudi, GCC and the world standards.
It also affects the health of the people, since the presence of urea could cause cancer. Al Babtain melamine are made 100 percent out of melamine formaldehyde in line with local and international standards. "Ours is the only Saudi company certified by SASO for meeting its standards," he added.
