SAUDI International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) has received technical bids for its planned $600 million ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) unit joint venture at Jubail in Saudi Arabia.

A source close to the project says an award of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract should be made by mid-December.

The facility will have a capacity of 200,000 tonnes-a-year of EVA when completed in the fourth quarter of 2014. EVA is used in the production of sports equipment and solar panels.

Australia’s WorleyParsons is conducting the front-end engineering and design for the plant and will also carry out some project management duties. Sipchem owns 75 per cent of the project, with South Korea’s Hanwha Chemicals owning the remaining 25 per cent.

The project is part of Sipchem’s $4 billion phase three expansion to its existing facilities at Jubail. Other projects planned include a methyl methacrylate plant, an acrylonitrile and hydrogen cyanide unit, and a polyacetal facility.

Sipchem’s planned $1.5 billion mixed-gas cracker was cancelled due to increasing costs. The firm will now source ethylene and propylene from Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic).