Central Highlands Province Okays First Ethanol Project

Authorities of central highlands Kon Tum province early this week approved a project to build an ethanol alcohol plant in local Hoa Binh industrial zone, the first of its kind in the locality, a company official said.

 

Quang Ngai Agricultural Products and Food Joint Stock Company will invest VND250 billion (US$15.62 million) to build the plant with a capacity of 100,000 tons per annum, general director Vo Van Danh said.

 

The plant will cover an area of 20 hectares in the industrial zone, Danh attributed, without mentioning the time for the start of the project.

 

The Vietnamese government has recently turned the green light to a biofuel development plan through 2015 and a vision toward 2025 to produce more renewable energy sources.

 

By 2015, Vietnam will strive to turn out 250,000 tons of ethanol and vegetable oil to fuel 1 per cent of the national gasoline demand.

 

The country’s first biofuel project is underway in central Quang Nam province since April 2007.

 

The plant is expected to produce 100,000 tons of food and fuel alcohols, and over 40,000 tons of supporting products a year in the first phase, which will help Vietnam save between 7 per cent and 10 per cent of spending on imported petroleum products each year. (Vietnam Economic Times, Vietnam Agriculture)