CAIRO: Sidi Krir Petrochemicals, SidPec Company, has started to set up a new plant that will produce butadiene for the first time in Egypt. Butadiene is an important industrial chemical used in the production of synthetic rubber. The plant will be established with total investments of $40 million (almost LE 230 million). The company also plans to set up another plant to produce materials used in the production of natural gas pipelines at a total cost of $25 million (approximately LE 144 million). Mohammad Nor-Eddin, SidPec chairman, said on Thursday that his company has fulfilled the required measures for setting up the butadiene plant at a capacity of 24,000 tons a year. "The plant's production, which will be financed with the company's self-resources, will bring an end to importing butadiene and synthetic rubber from the international market in addition to opening up export markets, he added. The chairman of SidPec pointed out that the company was mulling over a proposal to establish another plant to produce materials used for manufacturing natural gas pipes with investments of $25 million. "We are in talks with the Arab Industrialization Authority to stop importing these products from abroad, he said, noting that the authority is the largest importer of such materials. SidPec's net sales over the first nine months of 2006 surged to LE 1.39 billion with a net profit of LE 724 million, compared with LE 582 million a year ago.
