The China Post reported that construction began on a blast furnace that will be part of a steel mill complex built with investment by Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation, a Formosa Plastics Group steel venture in Vietnam.
Mr William Wong president of Formosa Plastics Group said that in the primary stage of construction the company expects to hire around 10,000 Vietnamese workers. The complex is aimed at turning Ha Tinhi, a province on the country's north central coast into a key industrial city.
Mr Nguyen Tan Dung PM of Vietnamese attended the ground breaking ceremony for the blast furnace which is expected to go into operation in 2015. Second and third blast furnaces at the steel mill complex are scheduled to be completed in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Mr Huang Chih peng Taiwan's representative to Vietnam said that the investment project which is estimated to be worth over USD 15 billion is an immense and arduous construction task. Despite the global economic downturn, Vietnam is still doing well and that the economy in the next year is expected to improve.
Mr Huang expressed hope that more investment projects from Taiwan will come to Vietnam and said the government there will provide more support to Taiwanese businessmen. The mill complex, which is expected to be the largest of its kind in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, will enjoy tax and investment incentives among ASEAN member countries.