The new plant will have a capacity of 1.55 million tons of ethylene per year. Construction will start immediately, with design and procurement of key equipment already under way, according to Bechtel.

Specifically, Linde will conduct engineering, procurement and services during pre-commissioning and commissioning of the new facility, while Bechtel will be responsible for construction of the facility and related procurement.

“This is an important project that will create thousands of jobs during construction and hundreds of permanent jobs during operations,“ said Brendan Bechtel, president of Bechtel’s Oil, Gas & Chemicals business unit, in a statement. “In addition, our program will include extensive training for personnel building the plant and operating new equipment.”