The People’s Committee of south-central Bình Định Province have decided to kill the multi-billion US dollar refinery project in the locality, aborting the country’s first petrochemical refinery project as well as the anxiety about its long-delayed implementation. — Photo zing.vn

BÌNH ĐỊNH — The People’s Committee of south-central Bình Định Province have decided to kill the multi-billion US dollar refinery project in the locality, aborting the country’s first petrochemical refinery project as well as the anxiety about its long-delayed implementation.

This announcement was made by the provincial committee’s chairman Hồ Quốc Dũng at a meeting yesterday.

Dũng explained the long delay in the project’s implementation after three years of registration for investment affected its feasibility as well as the province’s attractiveness to other investors.

The Nhơn Hội Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, located in the Nhơn Hội Economic Zone in the locality, was to break ground this year and planned to be commissioned in 2021 with a capacity of 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The project was initially estimated at nearly US$29 billion in 2013 by Thailand’s state-owned oil and gas giant PTT, but was scaled down to nearly $22 billion in the feasibility plan. PTT and Saudi Arabian Oil Company each would contribute a 40 per cent stake while a Vietnamese partner would contribute the remaining 20 per cent.

It was designed to be the first petrochemical refinery complex in Việt Nam and would contribute about 40 per cent of Bình Định Province’s GDP.

Early this year, some foreign and local media reported Thai PTT decided to withdraw from the project due to difficulties caused by falling global oil prices.

In the meeting yesterday, Dũng said the province would continue to promote other investment activities and would create favourable conditions for Japanese and European investors to land their investments here.

The local authority expects to draw investment projects in the Industry-Trade-Service-Urban Becamix-Bình Định Complex in Vân Canh District.

In the meantime, the province is also calling for investments in other projects including the Japanese Yo Yo frozen aquatic processing plant, Vĩnh Lợi and Aquatic Industrial Complex and the Cát Khánh seafood processing zone. – VNS