Baton Rouge, Louisiana — Wanhua has selected Louisiana for a $1.2 bn MDI project, according to the governor of the state John Bel Edwards.
Edwards and Wanhua Chemical chairman and CEO Zengtai Liao, announced the project on 10 April 2017.
The agreement will see a $954m capital investment by Wanhua with a further $166m investment by project partners. No further details of the partners were given.
Wanhua announced exclusively to UTECH-polyurethane.com that it was considering building an MDI splitter on the US Gulf Coast in 2014. The company added it was considering a 400 kT/year MDI facility on the US Gulf Coast in 2015.
The project is expected to create 170 new direct jobs and it will be the second largest foreign direct investment in Louisiana by company based in China following a $1.85 bn method or complex being built by Yuhuang chemical.
Louisiana Economic Development, a state-wide economic agency, said Wanhua chose the site after the state of Louisiana offered a ‘competitive incentive package that includes a grant of $4.3 m to offset site infrastructure costs’ and Wanhua is ‘expected to use the States’ quality jobs and industrial tax exemptions,’ the LED said.
While committing to the state, Wanhua has yet to announce its final site choice. LED said that ‘immediate access to an abundant supply of natural gas and other feedstocks, along with deep water transportation by the Mississippi River made Louisiana a natural fit for Wanhua’s investment.’
No further details were available at pixel.
