PS Jayaraman, chairman of the Board of TCI Sanmar Chemicals, has revealed that a new unit will be added to expand the company’s production of PCV, a material used in the plastic industries.

Jayaraman said the capacity of the unit is 200,000 tonnes annually, and will involve investments worth $150m next year.

He added that the company currently has one unit that produces 200,000 tonnes of PVC annually. The two units will contribute a value of $400m in hard currency to Egypt annually, which was previously spent on importing the material from abroad, he said.

Jayaraman said that the company’s total investments in Egypt have reached $1.15bn, representing the largest source of Indian investment in Egypt. The project is the largest of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

He added that after phase two investments are provided for the PVC plan, total investments will reach $1.2bn.

The company currently produces 275,000 tonnes of caustic soda annually, in addition to 60,000 tonnes of green ethylene, 200,000 tonnes of ethanol, and 200,000 tonnes of PVC.

Jayaraman said that Sanmar Group in India provides support to the company, having acquired Trust Chemical Industries in March 2007 which was later renamed TCI Sanmar Chemicals LLC. Sanmar Group is located in southern India and specialises in the chemical, engineering, metal, and shipping fields.