$380m contract signed for Saudi polysilicion plant

Saudi Arabia to manufacture solar raw materials. (Getty Images)

A $380 million contract to build phase one of a Saudi Arabian polysilicion plant has been signed between Polysilicon Technology Company (PTC), Hyundai Engineering Company and KCC Engineering and Construction Corporation.

The plant, which will be in Jubail, is set to produce an annual output of 3,350 tonnes of solar-grade polysilicon, the solar industry’s chief raw material and comes as Saudi Arabia seeks to shift its direction towards renewable energy sources.

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PTC is a 50/50 joint venture between Mutajadedah Energy Company (MEC) of Saudi and South Korea’s KCC, and the two will work together on the lump sum turn-key engineering, procurement and construction contract.

Walid Al-Shoaibi, Chairman of MEC said, "KCC are a very strong partner with tremendous technical and R&D capabilities and have great interests in investing in the Kingdom. We are very fortunate to have them as our joint venture partner. They have existing polysilicon plants operating in Korea which will allow them to add significant value to the execution and operation of the project ensuring its success and timely start up."

PTC’s executive director and CEO, Ibrahim Al-Humaidan added: “Over the past few years, the solar industry has gone through major consolidation and optimization which has led to a huge reduction in costs allowing the industry to see continued growth bringing it closer to grid parity with conventional sources of power.

The Polysilicon Project in Jubail is only our first step - PTC intends to expand the plant to an annual capacity of 12,000 metric tonnes as well as continue further downstream into the manufacturing of ingots and wafers.”