PHÚ YÊN — The south central coastal province said they are finishing a report to submit to the Government to decide the fate of a long-delayed multi-million dollar oil refinery project.

This was revealed by Nguyễn Chí Hiến, vice chairman of Phú Yên People’s Committee, during a four-day meeting of the provincial People’s Council, Vietnam News Agency reported.

The Vũng Rô refinery and petrochemical project, scheduled to start operations in the first quarter of 2019, is expected to produce eight million tonnes of oil each year. Phú Yên has pinned a lot of hope on the project as according to plan, the refinery would bring US$110 million to the local budget and create some 1,300 jobs.

It has been approved in principle by the Government and granted an investment certificiate by the Phú Yên People’s Committee back in 2008.

However, not until 2014, did Vũng Rô Petroleum Company, the project’s investor, hold the ground-breaking ceremony.

The refinery will cover an area of 538ha in Hoà Tâm Commune of Đông Hoà District. However, so far, the investor has just finished surveying the topography, geology and hydrology of the site. It has also agreed on the parameters of the main factory, the marine port Bãi Gốc and waste disposal site, and completed the project’s FEED (front-end engineering and design), but no construction has been done.

Impatient with the delays, the province has numerous times issued orders and even threats to stop the project if the investor fails to make progress.

The refinery project is fully financed by foreign investors, according to the project’s website. The Vũng Rô Petroleum Company is a joint-venture between Russia’s Telloil Group and Technostar Management Ltd, which is based in Britain but actually owned by Russian investors.

The weakening of the Russian rouble is considered the primary cause for delays, the online news outlet Vietnamnet said.

In October, Phú Yên People’s Committee ordered the investor to report on the results of the capital it has at its disposal for the project by November.

Yet, the investors missed the deadline.

Lê Tấn Hổ, head of Phú Yên provincial Department of Planning and Investment, said that currently, the investor had not been able to demonstrate its financial capacity, therefore, the province would have to bring the matter to the Prime Minister for consideration. — VNS