LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany - BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany; Huntsman Corp., The Woodlands, Texas; and a group of Chinese companies - Shanghai Hua Yi (Group Company), Sinopec Shanghai Gao Qiao Petrochemical Corp. and Shanghai Chloro-Alkali Chemical Co. Ltd. - are considering the construction of a new MDI (diphenylmethane diisocyanate) plant in China. Several sites for the plant are being evaluated. The startup is planned from 2010 onward, and the plant is expected to have a capacity of 400,000 metric tons per year of crude MDI.