PM launches Taiwan-invested steel-port complex

Ha Tinh (VNA) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attended a
ground-breaking ceremony for the Taiwan-invested 7.8 billion-USD iron and steel complex and Son Duong deep-water port in central Ha Tinh province on July 6.

The iron and steel complex is designed to be capable of producing 7.5
million tonnes of iron and steel a year and the Son Duong deep-water port
will be able to handle 30 million tonnes of cargo a year in the first phase.

The Formosa group expects to complete the construction of the first
phase of the iron and steel complex in four years and of the Son Duong
deep-water port in three years. Once those facilities start operating, they
will generate jobs for close to 10,000 workers.

It plans to pour another 8.2 billion USD into the second phase to double
the capacity of both the iron and steel complex and the Son Duong deep-water
port.

"This is the biggest foreign-invested project in Vietnam in terms of
both scale and investment capital. It is of great significance to Ha Tinh
province in particular, and to the central region and the country in general
in economic restructuring," PM Dung said.

He asked Formosa to assist the development of vocational training
programmes for local people, while asking Ha Tinh authorities to continue
providing the investor with favorable conditions to implement the project.

The PM also told the provincial authorities to help more than 1,800
households, who had given their land to the project, settle in new places
and get jobs at those facilities.
Earlier, PM Dung inspected the implementation of the Thach Khe iron mining
project and the construction of a 2 million-tonne steel ingot plant in the
province.

The Thach Khe iron mine is projected to turn out ores in early 2010 and the
steel ingot mill is to operate in 2010.-Enditem