PVFC, Seabank fund bioethanol project

PetroVietnam Finance Corp. (PVFC) and Southeast Asia Commercial Bank signed a credit loan agreement to provide VND836 billion (US$44.12 million) in credit for PetroVietnam Bio-ethanol Co.’s ethanol project. The ethanol plant, with a total designed capacity of 100,000 cubic meters per year, will be built on a 50-hectare site in the Tam Nong district in Phu Tho province, Vietnam. The project has a total investment capital of VND1.358 trillion (US$71.66 million). The deal aims to ensure the project’s expansion as scheduled, given the unfavorable economic situation. The project is part of the country’s biofuel development plan until 2015, approved in 2007, to help reduce Vietnam’s dependence on petroleum products, ensure energy security and reduce import costs. (March 29, 2010)