Turkish, US firms ink deal for huge chemical investment

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish polyester producer Sasa and US-based chemical giant Koch Industries 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 eastern Turkey.

The plant, which will be constructed in Adana province and completed in 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 contribute to the country's current account balance with $300 million yearly.

Sasa chairman Ibrahim Erdemoglu said the company would be the largest polyester producer in the world after China and India.

PTA is the main raw material with 85% in polyester production. The press release added that Turkey's PTA imports were 629,000 in 2019 and 410,000 tons in the first half of 2020.

Negotiations for another petrochemical facility in Adana's Yumurtalik district are currently underway, it also said.