The Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC) welcomes today’s announcement that CIAC member Canada Kuwait Petrochemical Corporation (CKPC) is moving forward with the construction of a $4.5-billion petrochemical upgrading facility in Sturgeon County, Alberta.

The investment is supported by royalty credits from the Alberta Government’s Petrochemicals Diversification Program (PDP).

“We applaud CKPC for their investment in Alberta and we also applaud the Alberta government who put a priority on ensuring investment supports for the petrochemical industry, such as the PDP,” said Bob Masterson, President and CEO of CIAC.

“For many years, Canada was passed over time and again for these kinds of global-scale investments. In turn, Canada lost out on the high-quality jobs and tax revenue that came with these investments.”

Today’s announcement comes after the Alberta Government’s announcement of a second round of support for petrochemical investment, with total support now reaching $2.1 billion. As part of the first round of PDP, CKPC’s project will receive royalty credits after the facility has been constructed and is in operation.

CKPC is a joint venture between Pembina Pipeline Corporation and Petrochemical Industries Company K.S.C. of Kuwait and is in the design phase of a world-scale, propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene upgrading complex.

The complex will process about 23,000 barrels per day of propane into polypropylene to make products such as food packaging, auto parts and electronics. Construction is expected to start in 2019, with the complex fully operational by mid-2023. At the peak of construction, more than 3,000 workers will be on site, with the project expected to create over 200 full-time operations and head office jobs upon completion.