United Arab Emirates petrochemical firm Borouge has awarded a $1.1 billion contract to Germany's Linde for the construction of a gas unit, the UAE's state news agency reported on Thursday.

The ethane unit will have a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes, Wam said.

Borouge, a leading provider of innovative plastics solutions, is a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), one of the world’s major oil and gas companies, and Austria-based Borealis, a leading provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions.

Borouge employs approximately 1,600 people and serves customers in more than 50 countries across the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Indian sub-continent and Africa.

Borouge tripled its annual production capacity in Abu Dhabi to 2 million tonnes in 2010 and an additional 2.5 million tonnes per year is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013 to create the world’s largest integrated polyolefins plant.