Ta’ziz, or Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company, struck a deal with eight UAE-based partners to invest up to a 20% share in a portfolio of projects worth Dh15 billion ($4 billion) in its Industrial Chemicals Zone in Ruwais.

The agreement is the first domestic public-private partnership (PPP) in Abu Dhabi’s downstream and petrochemicals industry, according to a statement issued by Adnoc on Wednesday.

Local investors will join Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADQ, and other worldwide strategic partners in their investment.

Al Dhafra Co-operative Society, Al Nasser Holdings, Alpha Dhabi Partners Holding, Arab Development Establishment, Buhairan Limited Company, Capital Investment, Mazrui International and Mazrui Energy Services, and Riverside Investments are among the eight UAE investors.

“This equity partnership, the first of its kind in Abu Dhabi’s chemicals industry, demonstrates Adnoc’s continued commitment to deepening our contributions to local industry and pioneering new, innovative means of collaboration with the UAE’s private sector,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Adnoc managing director and group CEO.

“Through Ta’ziz, our new domestic partners will have a stake in ongoing activities to enable additional domestic production of critical industrial raw materials, drive economic diversification and further grow the UAE’s advanced manufacturing base, supporting the ambitions outlined in the ‘Principles of the 50’ set out by our wise leadership.

“Looking ahead, we look forward to expanding Ta’ziz’s powerful pipeline of investment and collaboration prospects, welcome top investors eager to collaborate with us on the establishment of a globally competitive chemicals and industrial hub.”

International investors are also showing a lot of interest in the Ta’ziz industrial chemicals zone.

Ta’ziz has formed a joint venture with Reliance Industries, India’s largest private petrochemicals business, to create a significant chemicals project near Ruwais. Partnership agreements have also been struck with Fertiglobe, an Adnoc and OCI joint venture, and Mitsui and GS Energy for a potential blue ammonia manufacturing facility.

Adnoc also agreed to collaborate with Taqa on the development of a utilities project to power the industrial area.

The Ta’ziz Industrial Chemical Zone projects are now in the design phase, with an estimated completion date of 2025.

According to the announcement, the new local investor agreements follow a briefing at the Adnoc Business Centre in Abu Dhabi in September. The event, which showcased investment potential in Ta’ziz, was co-hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology.

The chemicals sector is an important aspect of the UAE’s Operation 300bn, which intends to increase the country’s industrial sector’s contribution to GDP to Dh300 billion by 2031.