The complex: A view of the Nghi Sơn petrochemical refinery in Nghi Sơn Economic Zone in Thanh Hóa. — Photo vietnambiz.vn |
HÀ NỘI — The central province of Thanh Hóa has offered more help to solve any problems involving the Japanese construction of the nearly completed Nghi Sơn Oil Refinery project, said secretary of the provincial Party Committee Trịnh Văn Chiến on November 21.
Chiến made the statement while meeting Yota Ona, director-general of the Natural Resources and Fuel Department of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to discuss construction of Việt Nam’s largest refinery and petro-chemical complex.
The complex is expected to play a significant role in the province’s economic development. Once in operation, it is set to contribute about VNĐ30 trillion (about US$1.32 billion) to the local budget annually, Chiến claimed.
The secretary urged Japanese contractors to fast-track the project, stressing the need to also build a lake for treatment of effluent waters to prevent pollution.
He also asked Ono to introduce investment opportunities in Thanh Hóa to more Japanese investors with an emphasis in the fields of industry, seaport, transportation and mining.
The Japanese official asked the provincial government to support Japanese investors in the province. The $9.2 billion Nghi Sơn Refinery will be the second oil refinery in Việt Nam. It will be located in Tĩnh Gia District of Thanh Hóa, about 200km south of Hà Nội.
Construction began in October 2013 and refinery operations are slated for the last quarter of 2017. The complex is designed to refine about 10 million tonnes of crude oil per year. It received the first batch of crude oil from Kuwait in August, 2017. — VNS