Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's (ADNOC) subsidiary Borouge awarded a US$169 million (Dh620.2m) to Hyundai Engineering and Construction of South Korea to build a speciality plastics unit in Abu Dhabi, the company said.
The work will comprise the construction of a "cross-linkable polyethylene (XLPE) unit" at its petrochemical plant in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. With an annual capacity of 80,000 tonnes, the unit is an added-value complement to the plant's low density polyethylene unit, Borouge said, which will enabling it to make plastics products for low to high voltage energy cables.
This is the final major contract to be awarded for the Borouge 3 mega-expansion project already underway in Abu Dhabi. Hyundai is also providing the utilities and offsite facilities for the project.
"When fully operational in mid-2014, Borouge 3 will more than double the plant's annual capacity to 4.5 million tonnes and create the largest integrated polyolefins plant in the world," the company said today.
Borouge is a joint venture between the ADNOC and Borealis, a leading provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions based in Australia.
Borealis and Borouge aim to be leading long-term suppliers of polymers to the global wire and cable infrastructure market.
igale@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
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World Cup 2023 ticket sales
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August 30 – India matches at Guwahati and Trivandrum
August 31 – India matches at Chennai, Delhi and Pune
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September 2 – India matches at Bengaluru and Kolkata
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SPECS
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SPECS
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The specs
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