Representatives from INVISTA and the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) have recently signed a memorandum of cooperation at a ceremony in Shanghai, China. In attendance were Wu Qing, Vice Mayor of the Shanghai Municipal Government; Chen Mingbo, Deputy Secretary General of the Shanghai Municipal Government and Director General of the Shanghai Economy Informatization Commission; Ma Jing, Director General of the Shanghai Chemical Industrial Park Administration Commission; and Jeff Gentry, Chairman and CEO for INVISTA.
Engineering for a 400,000-tonne adiponitrile (ADN) plant is underway at an estimated investment in excess of $1bn. With support of the local authorities, construction is expected to start in 2020, and start-up is expected to begin by 2022. “With this memorandum of cooperation and a commitment to work towards an investment agreement, we are pleased to be taking the next step toward finalising the investment and its location,” says Jeff Gentry, INVISTA Chairman and CEO.
“Shanghai is an attractive location in part due to the benefits of integrating the new facility into our existing HMD and polymer plants at SCIP. Furthermore, the cooperation and support we’ve received from the Shanghai government and SCIP to advance this project gives us confidence that we can work together to meet future milestones.”
According to the memorandum of cooperation, INVISTA will advance its internal decision-making process for the project with strong support from the Shanghai government and SCIP, including commitment to intellectual property protections and joint efforts to execute an investment agreement. ADN is the key ingredient in the production of nylon 6,6 – a versatile polymer used in many applications that improve people’s quality of life. Applications include engineered plastics, automotive airbag fabric, high-performance coatings and speciality apparel fibres.
