The Zhongke Refinery & Petrochemical project, the largest of its kind in the country, has recently entered the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) stage with expectations to begin operation by the end of 2019.

Since construction began in 2016, preparatory work such as designing, underground pipeline construction and bid invitation were all efficiently completed. SINOPEC Luoyang Engineering, which won the contract to undertake the EPC process on Jan 12, will take care of the next stage.

According to the project head, the construction of the project will go into full swing after the Spring Festival. Thousands of heavy-duty machineries and more than 30,000 workers will be involved during the construction process.

The first phase, which has entailed an investment of more than 40 billion yuan ($6.4 billion), will adopt state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques and world-class standards in terms of energy conservation, emission reduction and environment protection.

Once in operation, it will generate an output value of more than 60 billion yuan and contribute 20-billion-yuan worth of tax revenue annually. This will not only boost upstream and downstream industry development, but also stimulate the entire regional economy.