Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) has announced its plans to build a new petrochemical complex in southeastern China’s Fujian province, according to Reuters.

The project, which is expected to cost around $6.4 billion, will be developed in partnership with state-owned Fujian Fuhua Gulei Petrochemical.

The complex is projected to produce 1.8 million metric tons of ethylene per year and will expand SABIC’s manufacturing presence in Asia while also diversifying its feedstock supply chain.

Construction is set to begin in the first quarter of 2024, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2027. This announcement follows several similar investments made by Saudi Aramco in China’s downstream sector.

This joint venture was first proposed in 2018 and is the latest in a series of collaborations between Saudi companies and Chinese refiners.

Early in January, Chinese privately controlled refiner Rongsheng Petrochemical and Aramco announced their plans to take a 50% stake in each other’s refineries in China and Saudi Arabia. This move was preceded by Aramco’s acquisition of a 10% stake in Rongsheng, which was part of a 20-year crude oil supply deal with Rongsheng-controlled Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp. The deal, valued at $3.4 billion, was finalized in July.

Last September, Aramco also announced its intention to become a strategic investor in another private Chinese refiner, Jiangsu Shenghong Petrochemical, where it operates a 320,000 bbl/d refinery and petrochemical complex in the eastern province of Jiangsu.

Moreover, Aramco is currently in talks to acquire a 10% stake in Shandong Yulong Petrochemical Co., which is constructing a refinery complex with a capacity of 400,000 bbl/d of crude in eastern China’s Shandong province.