OAO “Polief” (Blagoveshchensk, Bashkortostan Republic, Russia) has signed a contract with UOP Sinco (Des Plaines, IL, USA) for the construction of an SSP (solid state polymerisation) plant. Construction of a new plant is part of OAO “Polief”’s strategic plan for the development of polyester production in Russia. The first stage of this project - start-up of the purified terephthalic acid (PTA) production plant - is nearing completion. The next stage will enable Polief to expand the range of products from the PET plant currently under construction. UOP Sinco, one of the leading international technology suppliers for various processes, will supply the new 120,000 t/a SSP plant.Thus, the Start-Up Phase I will include plants for the production of PTA (process: Mitsui Petrochemical, Japan), fibre grade PET (process: DuPont de Nemours, USA) and bottle grade PET (process: UOP Sinco, USA).