Chongqing's Key Projects Investment Reaches 450.9 Billion Yuan in 2024; BASF's MDI Capacity Increased to 530,000 Tons

According to a report released by the Chongqing Municipal Development and Reform Commission on December 19, during the period from January to November 2024, the total investment in key construction projects in Chongqing reached 450.9 billion yuan. During this period, 268 new projects were launched, and 204 projects were completed and put into operation or use.

Notably, the BASF Polyurethane MDI optimization project in Chongqing has entered the trial operation phase. Upon completion, BASF's MDI annual production capacity in Chongqing will increase from the current 400,000 tons to 530,000 tons.

Detailed information regarding BASF's MDI technical transformation project in Chongqing was publicly announced by Chongqing Changshou News Network on December 26, 2022.
The project overview is as follows:

• Project Name: MDI Optimization Project
• Construction Unit: BASF Polyurethane (Chongqing) Co., Ltd.
• Location: Within the existing plant area of BASF Polyurethane (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. at No. 1 Huabei 2nd Road, Changshou Economic Development Zone, Chongqing
• Nature of Construction: Industrial technology transformation
• Land Area: The newly constructed MMDI refining facilities, product tank area, and hazardous waste temporary storage will occupy 4,378 square meters of the existing reserved land. Other facilities, such as nitrobenzene, aniline, MDA, CMDI, etc., will be optimized and transformed within the existing facility area, without additional land occupation.
• Construction Duration: 30 months
• Construction Content: Based on the existing MMDI refining facilities, a new set with an annual capacity of 130,000 tons will be added, along with supporting public utilities. Simultaneously, existing facilities like nitrobenzene, aniline, MDA, CMDI, and related supporting projects will undergo bottleneck elimination modifications, extending the production time of certain facilities to achieve overall optimization and enhancement of the MDI facilities.

BASF's MDI capacity layout is as follows:

Following this expansion of 130,000 tons, BASF's total MDI capacity will reach 2.02 million tons per year. Global MDI capacity is relatively concentrated, with the top five producers being Wanhua Chemical (3.5 million tons/year), BASF, Covestro (1.77 million tons/year), Huntsman (1.37 million tons/year), and Dow (1.11 million tons/year). These industry giants are actively expanding their capacity. In addition to BASF's expansion completion, Korean Kumho Mitsui Chemicals completed a 200,000 tons/year capacity expansion in September 2023, increasing its MDI capacity from 410,000 tons/year to 610,000 tons/year.

Furthermore, Wanhua Chemical announced its 150,000 tons/year MDI technical transformation expansion project in its Fujian Industrial Park on October 25, 2023. The MDI facility in the Fujian Industrial Park had completed its transformation from 400,000 tons/year to 800,000 tons/year in April 2023, with a projected total capacity reaching 4.2 million tons/year in the future. It is expected that by 2024, domestic MDI capacity will reach 4.91 million tons/year, and global total capacity will reach 11.05 million tons.