The US$5-billion petrochemical complex, located at the Long Son Industrial Park in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau, should be put into operation as scheduled and reduce Vietnam’s reliance on imported petrochemical products.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (r) and CEO of Thailand’s Siam Cement Group (SCG) Roongrote Rangsiyopash. Photo: VGP

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh gave the remarks during a meeting with the CEO of Thailand’s largest cement producer Siam Cement Group (SCG) Roongrote Rangsiyopash and CEO of Amata Vietnam Somhatai Panichewa today [February 16]. 

“The project, once completed, would be essential for the development of the domestic industrial sector and put the country on the map of the world’s major exporters of petrochemical products,” Chinh said.

Chinh requested the SCG to use the most advanced and green technologies for this project while assisting Vietnam in improving its governance capability and attracting green financial resources.

According to Chinh, the Vietnam-Thailand strategic partnership has been progressing in all spheres, with economic, trade, and investment cooperation as key pillars.

For the past years, Thailand has been among Vietnam’s top 10 trading and investment partners, he added.

Chinh said the lack of Covid-19 vaccines, drugs, and the emergence of new variants compelled Vietnam to put in place strict anti-pandemic measures nationwide last year, which caused severe impacts on the socio-economic situation.

Vietnam, however, is now confident to reopen the economy and strives to adapt to the pandemic safely and flexibly towards sustainable development, Chinh noted.

Overview of the meeting.

In this regard, Chinh called for SCG to continue expanding investment activities in Vietnam, while Amata should serve as a bridge to further attract major corporations from Thailand and multinationals coming to Vietnam.

The two leaders of SCG and Amata highlighted the role of the Government in containing the pandemic and pushing for economic recovery.

SCG CEO Rangsiyopash thanked the Government for its support so that the company may continue working on the project in Vietnam.

He noted the project with an investment capital of $5.16 billion, the largest in the company’s history, would enter an investment phase 2 using modern and green technologies.

Chinh for his part said the Government is committed to supporting investors, including the SCG and Amata, to be successful in Vietnam.

The petrochemical complex, the first of its kind in Vietnam, targets to develop a 1-million-ton ethylene cracker with a flexible gas and naphtha feed, creating an olefin capacity of 1.6 million tons per year.

At present, Dung Quat Refinery, the first-ever oil refinery in Vietnam, processes about 6.5 million tons of crude oil per year, meeting only 30% of the domestic demand for petroleum products, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.