By DPA
Singapore : A 110-million-US-dollar petrochemical plant will be built on Jurong Island in Singapore's first joint venture with India and Kuwait, news reports said Tuesday.
The facility on the man-made island is expected to produce 100,000 metric tonnes of Normal-Paraffin a year, an ingredient used to make a chemical component of laundry detergents.
Under the deal signed late Monday, India-based Tamilnadu Petroproducts will own 51 percent of the company through its Certus Investment and Trading subsidiary.
Kuwait Finance House will own 44 percent and Singapore's Economic Development Board will hold 5 percent.
The signing coincided with the first official visit to Singapore of Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also witnessed the signing.
The plant will be run by TPL India Singapore. "A critical factor for coming to Singapore is the availability of a long-term supply of kerosene, from which Normal-Paraffin is produced," The Straits Times quoted director Ashwin Muthiah as saying.
While declining to disclose details, Muthiah said the deal would be longer than five years.
Industry sources estimate that there will be a shortage of more than 200,000 metric tonnes of Normal-Paraffin each year until 2010 in South-east Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.
Two other pacts, one on tourism and the other on culture and information, were also signed.