Turkish polyester producer Sasa Polyester Industries Inc. and U.S.-based chemical giant Koch Industries have signed an agreement for an investment worth $935 million to build a production plant for purified terephthalic acid (PTA) – a key component in polyester production – in southern Turkey.
The plant, which will be constructed in the southern province of Adana and is set to be completed by 2022, will have an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tons of PTA, according to a press release issued by Sasa on Wednesday.
The factory will create 400 new jobs and is expected to contribute to the country's current account balance with $300 million yearly.
Sasa Chairman Ibrahim Erdemoğlu said the company would be the largest polyester producer in the world after China and India.
PTA is the main raw material, comprising 85% of polyester production. The press release added that Turkey's PTA imports were 629,000 tons in 2019 and 410,000 tons in the first half of 2020.
Negotiations for another petrochemical facility in Adana's Yumurtalık district are currently underway, the statement also said.
Invista, the Koch Industries affiliate with which Sasa signed the joint agreement, is known as a market leader in PTA technology with a 64% share of the market between 2000 and 2020.
