Siam Cement Group (SCG) of Thailand said that it will invest US$3.7 billion to build a petrochemical complex in Long Son industrial zone of southern Ba Ria Vung Tau province.
The group, who is owned by Thailand’s Royal family, is applying for the investment license needed to undergo this project, SCG’s president Kan Trakulhoon said at a recent meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
SCG expects that the first phase will end in 2011 and the whole project is due for completion in 2013.
“SCG has already reached agreement with Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group or PetroVietnam to jointly carry out a feasibility study for the project,” said SCG media executive Dinh Do Phu.
PetroVietnam is speeding up negotiations with Vietnam National Chemical Corp (Vinachem) and two Thailand’s partners namely SCG Chemical and Thailand Plastic Company-TPC to set up a joint venture to build the complex in Ba Ria - Vung Ta province, about 100 kilometers east of Ho Chi Minh City, the Labor (Lao Dong) newspaper reported November 19.
The Vietnamese side will hold a 29 per cent stake while the rest of 71 per cent will belong to foreign firms, the press said.
The project will employ 15,000 workers during its construction and 5,000 skilled workers. When fully operational the project will facilitate the development of other industries like automotive, electrical equipment and electronics, SCG said.
PetroVietnam’s chairman Dinh La Thang, however, said that it is not easy to reach agreements with overseas partners to realize the Long Son complex and PetroVietnam will raise money from its ownership capital and local resources, especially via the effective stock market channel.
Recently, PetroVietnam estimated that the Long Son refinery will cost around US$6 billion. The oil refinery is expected to have a capacity of about 8 million metric tons a year or 160,657 barrels a day.
Long Son oil refinery is the third in the country after underway Dung Quat in central Quang Ngai province and blueprint Nghi Son in central Thanh Hoa province. Vietnam is expected to operate Dung Quat in early 2009 and Nghi Son by 2013.
Vietnam is now heavily reliant on imported petroleum, which is estimated to reach 13.3 million metric tons this year, up over 20 per cent on year. (VietNamNet, VNS)
Vietnamese
