Chemicals producer Borealis AG delayed the start of a plastics plant in Belgium, its biggest investment in Europe, citing Covid-19.
The plant in Kallo in the port of Antwerp will begin production in the third quarter of 2023, the company said in an email. It had previously targeted starting operations by the end of next year.
Pandemic-driven restrictions have wreaked havoc on maintenance and construction schedules in the industry. A new nitrogen facility being built by Nederlandse Gasunie NV in Zuidbroek in the Netherlands is also behind plan.
Borealis announced spending of 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for its Kallo plant in 2019. The so-called propane dehydrogenation facility will turn propane into propylene, which is then used in plastics.
Borealis is owned by OMV AG and Mubadala Investment Co., the Abu Dhabi state investment company.