Huntsman announced plans to proceed with the construction of a £50-million ($70 million U.S.) chloride-process titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment plant.

SALT LAKE CITY — Huntsman Corp. announced plans to proceed with the construction of a £50-million ($70 million U.S.) chloride-process titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment plant at Huntsman Tioxide’s Greatham Works in the United Kingdom.

The company said initial preparatory and design work has been carried out on the project, with completion expected by mid-2002. The new facility will increase total TiO2 capacity at Greatham by nearly 30,000 metric tons (mt) annually, to 100,000 mt, the company said.

Huntsman Tioxide is the third-largest TiO2 producer worldwide, with total capacity of 570,000 mt a year. The Greatham project is Huntsman’s first investment in a new plant since the company acquired Tioxide from ICI plc last year. Huntsman also recently announced plans to conduct a feasibility study of the construction of a 50,000-mt TiO2 plant in China.