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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Formosa Petrochemical Plans Petrochemical Complex in St. James Parish, Louisiana

04/24/2018
Taiwan-based Formosa Petrochemical Corp. will build its $9.4 billion chemical manufacturing complex in St. James Parish, Louisiana. The company has purchased a 2,400-acre site along the west bank of the Mississippi River.

Located just downriver from the Sunshine Bridge, the complex would be built in two phases and produce ethylene, propylene, ethylene glycol and associated polymers. Formosa plans to operate the complex under its subsidiary and Louisiana registered company, FG LA LLC, and is branding the site as “The Sunshine Project.” Pending the completion and approval of permits for the site, FG could begin construction as soon as 2019 in what projects to be a 10-year building and development process in two phases.

Formosa Plastics Group operates three existing Louisiana facilities with 410 employees in East Baton Rouge and Pointe Coupee parishes. The Sunshine Project would create 1,200 new direct jobs, Louisiana Economic Development estimates.

“We will work to keep the community updated and informed at each stage of this project,” said Formosa’s Keh-Yen Lin, who is CEO of the FG LA LLC project and executive vice president of Formosa Petrochemical Corporation. “We welcome questions and concerns, and encourage nearby residents and anyone interested in the project to visit our website at SunshineProjectLA.com.”

To secure the project, the State of Louisiana offered a competitive incentive package that would include a $12 million performance-based grant to offset infrastructure costs. Following company performance in building the complex, FG would receive the grant in four annual installments of $3 million beginning in 2021, the projected first year for hiring permanent jobs. FG will also receive the services of LED FastStart, and the company expects to utilize Louisiana’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.

“GNO Inc. is proud to welcome Formosa to St. James Parish, where it will bring over 1,200 new direct jobs and $9.4 billion in capital investment,” said GNO Inc. President & CEO Michael Hecht. “Formosa’s decision to announce in St. James Parish is proof not only of the River Region’s unique assets, but also of the unsurpassed economic development partnership that exists within Greater New Orleans and Louisiana.”

“For more than 50 years, the Sunshine Bridge has connected the River Parishes in a strategic fashion that has enabled tremendous industrial growth and thousands of new jobs along both sides of the Mississippi River in Louisiana,” Governor John Bel Edwards said. “The new Sunshine Project continues that bridge into a brighter economic future for Louisiana, one with an estimated 8,000 construction jobs at peak, even more permanent jobs upon completion, and a multibillion-dollar impact on earnings and business purchases for decades to come. As a major global manufacturer based in Taiwan, Formosa has operated in Louisiana for several decades, and we applaud the company’s responsible and thorough approach to developing this project.”

“Given the history of St. James Parish, this will be the largest industry ever welcomed,” Parish President Timmy Roussel said. “This plant alone will almost double the present tax base. Assisting our unemployed and underemployed residents of the community is a priority in St. James Parish. Thus, a company like Formosa, of this magnitude, surely can help to remedy a lot of our community’s needs. Such an operation will offer St. James Parish residents and businesses unheard of opportunities: St. James Parish is a great place to live, work, play and grow.”

“The Port of South Louisiana welcomes Formosa to our district and we look forward to assisting them in constructing and operating their facility,” port Executive Director Paul Aucoin said. “As one of the most important investments within the Port of South Louisiana, we appreciate the many jobs the project brings to our community.”

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