Saudi Arabia’s Middle East Paper Co. (MEPCO) has revised the startup schedule for its sixth tissue paper production line (TM6) at subsidiary Juthor Paper Manufacturing Co. in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC).
On September 30, MEPCO announced that trial production, previously scheduled for the third quarter of 2026, is now expected to begin in Q1 2027, with commercial production also targeted for the same quarter.
The company attributed the delay to supply-chain disruptions caused by surrounding geopolitical conditions. MEPCO did not provide further details on the affected supplies or equipment.
The revised schedule represents a delay from the timeline originally announced in August 2024. At the time, MEPCO expected trial production to begin in Q3 2026, followed by commercial production in Q4 2026.
The ANDRITZ-supplied TM6 will add 60,000 tonnes per year of tissue capacity, doubling Juthor’s annual production capacity to 120,000 tonnes. PrimeLine W 2200 has a design speed of 2,100 m/min and a width of 5.47 m.
SAR 345 million investment unchanged
MEPCO confirmed that there has been no change to the previously announced project cost. The TM6 project was approved with an estimated investment of SAR 345 million.
The company originally stated that the project would be financed mainly through government financial institutions, bank loans and proceeds from the Public Investment Fund’s investment in MEPCO.
The latest disclosure did not indicate any increase in the investment budget as a result of the delay.
Commercial impact pushed back
The revised startup schedule will also delay the project’s contribution to MEPCO’s financial results.
MEPCO said the positive impact of TM6 commercial production on its financial statements has been delayed as a result of the revised timeline.
The company continues to expect the project to have a positive impact on its financial statements once commercial production begins.
Related project
MEPCO has also revised the timeline and investment for its PM5 recycled containerboard project at its Jeddah mill, citing the same supply-chain disruptions linked to surrounding geopolitical conditions.
The 450,000-tonne/year machine is now expected to start production in Q1 2028, compared with the previous Q4 2027 target. The project's estimated cost has also increased to SAR 1.881 billion, from SAR 1.78 billion.
