The complex: A view of the Nghi Sơn petrochemical refinery in Nghi Son Economic Zone in Thanh Hoa. — Photo vietnambiz.vn

Central Thanh Hoa province has offered more help to solve any problems involving the Japanese construction of the nearly completedc Nghi Son Oil Refinery project, said Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Trinh Van Chien on November 21.

Chien 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 Viet 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 VND30 trillion (about US$1.32 billion) to the local budget annually, Chien 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 Hoa 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-dolar Nghi Son Refinery will be the second oil refinery in Viet Nam. It will be located in Tinh Gia district of Thanh Hoa, about 200km south of Ha Noi.

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