A consortium of companies from China, Italy and Malaysia has secured a MYR1.39bn ($328M) contract for the construction of a high-density polyethylene plant in Johor, Malaysia.

The consortium includes Tecnimont SpA, China Huanqiu Contracting & Engineering Corp, TecnimontHQC Sdn Bhd and TecnimontHQC Scarl.

The contract — awarded by PRPC Polymers, a unit of Petronas Chemicals Group — will involve the provision of engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning services for the project.

The facility will have an annual production capacity of 400,000t of high-density polyethylene. It will be built within the Rapid petrochemicals project in Pengerang, Johor.

Work on the project is expected to be completed in 2019.

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