‘We're sticking to the dates [set out in the project], with a construction level of around 30-35%, and we can say that by the end of next year, we'll be starting up the two factories,’ he said.

Speaking to the Lusa news agency on the sidelines of the signing of collaboration protocols with the municipality of Sines and local associations, Salvador Ruiz said that the start-up of a factory is ‘a very technical and complicated process’ that involves ‘several months of work’.

There will be ‘several months of work to prepare the factories, commission them and start production’, he explained, pointing to the ‘last quarter of next year’ for the start of activities.

‘We're now in the construction phase, working with the contractors, which is still a very long process, but the largest pieces of equipment have already been transported and are already on site,’ he said.

According to Ruiz, ‘all the details relating to the installation of equipment, pipework, cables, and instrumentation’ will follow to ensure that ‘everything is in perfect safety conditions’, ensuring that ‘these new plants, which are state-of-the-art at European level, can start up’.

‘We've always bet on Sines, and we're transforming the Sines industrial complex, just as we're transforming all the complexes in Repsol's industrial area to grow in a sustainable way, decarbonising processes, and we're doing it in an efficient way to sustain its future,’ he said.

After the start of production, Salvador Ruiz told Lusa that he expected ‘growth in line with the market's needs’ and said that he was working to say that ‘the two plants will be up and running and at full capacity by 2026’.

According to the company, the Alba project will build two new plants to produce high-value-added, 100% recyclable polymeric materials for the automotive, pharmaceutical, and agri-food industries.

The two plants will produce linear polyethylene and polypropylene and will be pioneers in the Iberian Peninsula. They will contribute to the integration and diversification of Repsol's industrial area and its leadership in Europe.

This is an investment of €657 million to expand the Sines industrial complex, in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the energy transition.

In March of this year, the European Commission approved state aid totalling €63 million in the form of an income tax credit to enable the diversification and increase of chemical production at the Repsol Polímeros complex. This is expected to contribute to the development of the Alentejo area where it is located.

The Commission's assessment concluded that state aid promotes the economic development of the most disadvantaged regions and is necessary for realising the expansion project, which Repsol would not be able to achieve without public aid.

With the project to expand the Sines petrochemical complex, Repsol expects to create 75 direct jobs and around 300 indirect jobs.