GGC and KTIS to invest in a bioindustries complex in Thailand
Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.
Global Green
Chemical Public Company Limited (GGC), a subsidiary of Thailand’s chemical
manufacturer PTT Global Chemical Public
Company Limited (PTTGC), and Kaset
Thai International Sugar Corporation Public Company Limited (KTIS) have signed
a memorandum of understanding to invest in a bioindustries complex in Nakhon
Sawan Province (Thailand) on 6th February. Each firm owns half of
the (yet-to-be-named joint venture) that will develop the complex after having
conducted a feasibility study which began in 2016.
Figure 1. Signing of the memorandum of
understanding by GGC and KTIS representatives
The following table summarizes the information
available about the new project:
[Sources:
- News
detail of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, 6/2/2018.
- Bio-economic
joint venture in the offing, Bangkok Post, 7/2/2018.]
Name
|
Nakhon Sawan
Biocomplex (NBC).
|
Location
|
Land area
of approximately 320 ha in Taklee district, Nakhon Sawan Province (Thailand).
It is adjacent
to KTIS’s sugar milling plant and sugar cane cultivation area.
|
Phase 1
|
- Sugar-cane
crushing plant (2.4 million tons per year).
- Ethanol
plant (600,000 litres per day).
- Biomass
power plant (85 MW).
- Infrastructure
to support both phases.
Investment:
7,650 million baht (roughly 200 M€).
|
Phase 2
|
Production
of high-value biochemical, bioplastics and functional food.
Investment:
10,000 – 30,000 million baht (roughly 260 – 770 M€).
According
to previous information, Polylactic Acid (PLA) could be one of the products
to be manufactured in the Phase 2.
|
Timeline
|
- In late February, both parties will conduct
a road show in Japan to attract overseas investors to the NBC project, after
which they will visit Europe and the US.
- Ground
breaking construction ceremony is expected in 3Q 2018.
- The approval of the newly revised Thailand
Sugar Act, which will allow ethanol producers to use sugar juice as feedstock,
will be crucial for the project.
- If
everything proceeds as scheduled, the phase 1 will begin commercial operations
in early 2020.
|