Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團), one of the nation’s leading conglomerates, said yesterday the first furnace at its steel manufacturing complex in Vietnam is scheduled to begin operations at the end of 2014.
About 52 percent of the first-phase construction of the steel mill has been completed and the project is proceeding smoothly, the group told Representative to Vietnam Huang Chih-peng (黃志鵬).
Huang visited the construction site with a delegation of more than 50 Taiwanese investors.
The group — which includes Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑), Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠), Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (台灣化學纖維) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) — plans to invest US$15.2 billion to build the steel production base in Ha Tihn, central Vietnam.
When the first furnace comes online in 2014, the Ha Tihn complex is expected to produce between 635 and 726 tonnes of steel a year, Huang said.
The group said it planned to add one new furnace a year.
Aside from steel production, the group is working on the transportation infrastructure for delivery of its steel products.
It is also building a workers’ dormitory, which is expected to be finished at the end of June.
Huang said the FPG investment represents a milestone for Vietnam’s steel industry and should boost the country’s finances.
The FPG project is one of the largest foreign investment deals in Vietnam, and the Vietnamese authorities value it highly, he said.
The group, which has launched a hiring and training program in Vietnam, said it aimed to hire about 7,000 workers for the Ha Tinh production base.
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