Luxembourg, 04/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - On 21 December, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced it would be lending €300 million to Polski Koncern Naftowy (PKN) Orlen SA for the construction of a new aromatics complex that will produce chemical intermediates for the production of polyesters used in the textile industry and of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins used in the packaging industry, e.g. for the production of soft recyclable bottles.
The EIB loan will finance part of the construction cost of a plant that will produce 400,000 tonnes of paraxylene per year, located at the PKN Orlen's existing refinery and petrochemical complex in P³ock (Mazovieckie voivodship), as well as part of the cost of a plant producing 600,000 tonnes of purified terephthalic acid per year, located in W³oc³awek, some 55 km from P³ock (Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodship).
According to the EIB, the operation of the new production plants will create some 200 new job opportunities in these areas, which are facing a 16% unemployment rate ¯ above Poland's average. The new production facilities will contribute to increasing the amount of processed crude oil by approximately 500,000 tonnes yearly, while adapting at the same time to a shift in demand from gasoline to diesel in the region. (O.L.)