Brazilian petrochemical firm Braskem will invest R614mn ($100mn) to expand its current domestic production capacity by around 139,000t in the states of Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul, and Alagoas.
The investment will cover seven projects related to polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other chemical products, the company said today.
The expansion projects will create over 2,200 jobs in Brazil and help to better meet the domestic market's polymer and chemicals demand through domestic production.
Braskem's PE production capacity in Brazil is 3.2mn metric tons (t)/y. PVC output capacity is 710,000t/y in Brazil at its units in Bahia and Alagoas.
Fellow chemical producers Innova, OCQ and Unipar Carbocloro are also expected to announce investments today at a Brazilian chemical industry event at the Triunfo petrochemical hub in southern Brazil. The investments are in response to a special tax regimen (REIQ) that reduces the PIS/COFINS taxes for the chemical and petrochemical industries and establishes benefits for companies that expand their installed capacity and/or install new plants.
Among the products covered by the new tax regimen are all polymers and their upstream inputs, such as naphtha, ethane, and propane.