PLAQUEMINE, LA (AP) — Shintech will spend $1.4 billion to add an ethylene plant at its Iberville Parish facility.
The company said in a news release that the plant will create 100 new jobs, with an average annual salary of $68,500, plus benefits.
The new project will lift Shintech's total capital investment to date in Louisiana to $4.7 billion.
"This is the third major expansion announced by Shintech in Louisiana since 2008, and our partnership with this global chemical leader continues to strengthen," said Gov. Bobby Jindal, who pitched Shintech executives on the project during a visit in Japan.
Adam Knapp, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, said Wednesday's announcement came at a good time. It has been about 18 months since a petrochemical construction project of Shintech's scale had been announced.
With approximately 5,700 acres on the Mississippi River southwest of Baton Rouge, Shintech operates plants in Plaquemine and Addis that chiefly produce polyvinyl chloride and vinyl chloride monomer – the key ingredient from which PVC plastics are made.
The latest expansion will include installation of an ethane cracker at the Plaquemine complex.
Shintech expects to break ground on the project in the second quarter of 2015, with completion slated for the first half of 2018.
