PHNOM PENH, Dec. 28, 2012 (PRU) – SINOMACH China
Perfect Machinery Industry Corp Co. Ltd has announced a $2.3 billion joint
investment with local partner Cambodian Petrochemical Co. Ltd to construct an
oil refinery plant in two coastal provinces and expect it to be operational by
the end of 2015, His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Sok An, who is the
Chairman of Cambodian National Petroleum Authority (CNPA), said on Friday.
His Excellency Dr. Sok An, also Minister in Charge
of the Office of the Council of Ministers, presided over the signing ceremony
for the oil refinery license agreement and engineering procurement
construction contract between CNPA and Cambodian Petrochemical Co. Ltd, and
SINOMACH China Perfect Machinery Industry Corp Co. Ltd.
The construction will take up to 36 months for the
plant that covers more than 100 hectares of land in the provinces of
Sihanoukville and Kampot. The plant expects to produce 5 million tons of
refined oil petroleum products per year.
His Excellency Dr. Sok An told the floor after the
signing ceremony that “today’s event sends a very strong signal to the outside
world that Cambodia is one of the key investment destinations for foreign
direct investment” thanks to the country’s political stability and peace on top
of the nation’s potential investment areas.
In June last year, a framework agreement for the
feasibility study to build the oil refinery was signed by Cambodian National
Petroleum Authority and the Cambodian Petrochemical Co. Ltd (CPC).
The strong support from the Royal Government of
Cambodia led by Samdech Akka Mohan Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of
Cambodia, enabled this ambitious project to move forward that will not only
contribute revenue to the government but also create jobs for as many as 4,000.
Cambodian Petrochemical Co. Ltd said “Cambodia will
soon not only be able to reduce imports of petroleum products but will become a
net exporter of such products”.
Cambodia had built its first oil refinery firm in
1960s, in Preah Sihanouk province, with the support from French-firm ELF-UNION
and produced 450,000 tons of petroleum products per year annum in 1968 but it
was interrupted by Cambodia’s civil war in 1971.
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