Tasnee postpones its titanium sponge project to H2 2019

The National Industrialization Company (TASNEE) has postponed the operation of its titanium sponge project to the second half of 2019, it said in a bourse statement on Tuesday.

This is driven by the delay in commercial operations of the raw material unit (Titanium Tetrachloride) which is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2019.

There is no impact on the final cost of the project, the statement said.

The project is owned by Advanced Metal Industries Co. (AMIC), which is 50:50 owned by Tasnee and Cristal unit.

The relevant financial impact cannot be determined at present, and further updates will be unveiled later, the statement added.

The project, which is located in Yanbu industrial City, will initially produce 15,600 tons a year (tpa) of pure titanium, the statement said.

In January 2014, Tasnee signed a joint venture agreement with Japan’s Toho Titanium Co. Ltd. to build the SAR 1.6 billion project.

AMIC owns 65 percent of the project, while Toho Titanium holds the remaining 35 percent