“The project has received the government’s in principle approval,” said a senior Ha Tinh Investment Promotion Centre official. Initially, Formosa came to Vung Ang Economic Zone to invest in steel complex and port projects worth USD 7.9 billion during the first stage of construction. However, after discovering the zone boasted great potential for petro-chemical development projects, Formosa proposed local authorities allow it to implement a petro-chemical project on 1,600 hectares of land.

At present, Formosa is preparing necessary procedures for the project, which is located on a 720ha site next to the group’s USD 6.7 billion steel project.

The Vung Ang Economic Zone management board said it would grant an investment licence to the investor only when it invested in building the Son Duong deepwater port, which would help boost the province’s economic development as it could accommodate vessels between 200,000-400,000 dead weight tonnes and was located on the north-south traffic axis.

The petro-chemical and oil refinery project has been planned with a capacity of 300,000 barrels of oil per day and 16 million tonnes of petrochemicals. After coming into operation, the project will employ up to 9,000 workers and churn out a wide range of products such as benzene, gasoline, ethylene and propylene.

At a meeting in September last year with Ha Tinh’s People’s Committee to discuss Formosa’s proposal, Do Huu Hao, deputy minister of Industry and Trade said the province needed to carefully consider the project’s location as it would be located near the Thanh Hoa province-based Nghi Son oil refinery.

According to Vung Ang Economic Zone management board, Formosa committed to use modern technology and equipment for the project, with environmental protection a priority.