Formosa Plastics says Yunlin steel mill will proceed

The Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) said yesterday that it expects to start work on its NT$140 billion (US$4.27 billion) steel mill next year despite local opposition to the project.

"The group is ready to launch the investment plan. Apart from waiting for emission standards to be released by the central government, the steel mill project is proceeding well," an official at group subsidiary Formosa Heavy Industries Corp (台塑重工) said.

"We expect to break ground in the second quarter or the third quarter of next year," the official said.

The official said that the planned steel mill will have an annual production capacity of 7.5 million tonnes of steel products and is expected to create more than 10,000 jobs in Yunlin County.

Formosa Plastics Group, the nation's largest industrial group, was responding to an Economic Daily News report yesterday that the proposed project had come to a halt pending further discussions with the Yunlin County Government, who wants more compensation to offset the pollution likely to be caused by the plant.

The newspaper said the Yunlin County Government was also studying the possibility of imposing a special tax on petrochemical and steel investments.

A spokesperson for Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) said that more discussions had to be held on compensation issues.

"The steel project will no doubt produce massive pollution so more negotiations are necessary, but the county has never said the Formosa plan is not welcome here," he said.