Implementation work has begun at Assaluyeh Ammonia/Urea project after its contract entered into effect.In May '01, NPC awarded a contract to a consortium of Japan's Toyo Eng. and Chiyoda and Iran's Petrochemical Industries Design and Engineering Co. (PIDEC) for the construction of the world's largest urea plant and a world-scale ammonia facility at Pars Special Economic/Energy Zone (PARSEE) in Assaluyeh on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf southwest of Iran (NPC News Bulletin # 17). It will produce 2050-t/d (676,500-t/y) of ammonia and 3250-t/d (1.07-mt/y) of urea.

NPC will shortly invite tenders for an ammonia project that will be built at the existing Razi Petrochemical Complex in south Iran near the northern coast of the Persian Gulf. The project will have a capacity of 2050 tonne/day (676,500-t/y).
In the meantime, the NPC's subsidiary Petrochemical Industries Development Management Co. (PIDMCO) is preparing bid documents that are to be offered to contractors for the ethane cracker of Olefin No. 11 project in Assaluyeh, a world-scale polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in Bandar Imam, and an 80,000 tonne/year Soda Ash project that will be located next-door to the Shiraz Petrochemical Complex in the southern Shiraz Province. .


NPC's first and second PTA/PET projects are being constructed at Petzone in an area of 33.7 hectares. Once the first phase of these two projects (PTA/PET-1) is completed, 350,000 tonne/year of pure terephthalic acid (PTA) and 412,000 tonne/year of polyethylene terethphalate (PET) will be produced. With the completion of phase two (PTA/PET-2), an extra 350,000 tonne/year of PTA and 396,000 tonne/year of PET will be added to the output from the first phase.The projects offer five hundred direct job opportunities when they become operational. They will also create some 5000 job opportunities in the downstream industries. At PTA/PET-1 project, actual physical progress stood at 75% by the end of June. At the same time, 86% of the goods ordered from abroad was unloaded at Bandar Imam port. In the meantime, 2,520 tonnes of equipment were installed.PTA/PET-1 is expected to be on stream in 2002 while PTA/PET-2 will become operational in 2003. Shahid Tondgooyan Petrochemical Co. will implement and operate both PTA/PET-1&2 projects.

NPC has decided to build a large hotel at Assaluyeh. It recently awarded a contract to a local Iranian construction company to build a 450-room hotel at Assaluyeh where it is building several world scale petrochemical projects. Construction activities have started at the project site following the allocation of the required land. The project is scheduled to be completed in 12 months.