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Emirates Biotech to build mega PLA production facility: Emirates Biotech — a joint venture between the UAE’s SS Royal Emirates Investment and Hong Kong’s Global Biopolymers Industries — is planning to build the world’s largest polylactic acid (PLA) production plant in the UAE, according to a press release. Construction is expected to begin next year and the total investment ticket for the project is set to reach USD 800 mn.
What we know: The plant will be built in two phases, each with 80k ton annual capacity. The facility would replace the equivalent of 3.2 bn plastic bottles and reduce 300k tons of CO2 emissions annually. The plant will use technology from Swiss company Sulzer to produce, purify, and polymerize lactide. Production is slated to kick off in early 2028.
Exports are in the pipeline: The company plans to make PLA in the UAE and export the product to India, Turkey, and Europe, CEO Marc Verbruggen told The National earlier this year.
SOUND SMART– PLA a biopolymer made from plants that absorbs CO2, making it a more sustainable material than other plastics, according to the company’s website. It can be used for appliances, electronics, packaging, food service ware, 3D printing, and textiles. It is recyclable and compostable, breaking down into natural elements without leaving microplastics behind.
PLA is already taking off in the region: Dubai-based polymer supplier Gulf Biopolymers Industries (GBI) announced plans in February to build the region’s first biodegradable PLA polymers production facility in the Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (Kezad). The facility — for which GBI signed a 50-year lease agreement— will span 135k sq meters and is planned to have an annual 30k ton PLA production volume.
