Saudi Arabia's Sahara Petrochemicals Company said late Thursday that its subsidiary Sahara and Maaden Petrochemicals Company, or Samapco, has secured a loan worth Saudi Riyals 1.98 billion ($528.2 million) from a consortium of Saudi banks.
The consortium, which comprises Banque Saudi Fransi, Riyad Bank and The Saudi British Bank, will provide Islamic commercial financing to Samapco's ethylene dichloride and caustic soda petrochemical project in the Jubail Industrial City.
"The financing is for a period of 15 years with unequal semi-annual installments commencing after the completion of the project," Sahara said in a statement posted on the Saudi stock exchange Tadawul.
Samapco is a 50:50 joint venture between Sahara Petrochemicals and Saudi Arabian Mining Company, or Maaden.
When completed, Samapco's Jubail project will have a 250,000 mt/year caustic soda unit and a 300,000 mt/year ethylene dichloride unit. Construction of the plant began in June 2011 and it is scheduled for startup in Q1 2013.
