A ground-breaking ceremony to build northern Vietnam’s first bio-ethanol plant was held in the midland province of Phu Tho on June 21 in the presence of National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong.

The 80 million USD project is scheduled to become operational by December 2010 to produce 100,000 cu. m of ethanol a year as fuel from cassava and sugarcane locally available.

Its products are not only environment friendly for reducing CO2 emissions but also contribute to poverty reduction for cassava and sugarcane farmers in the region.

The project investor, Bio-Petroleum and Petrochemical Joint Stock Company (PVB), will sign direct contracts with farmers to buy their products at prices equivalent to those available at northern border gates, said director Vu Thanh Ha at the ceremony.

On June 10, PVB signed a contract for engineering, procurement and construction of the factory with a group of contractors led by the Vietnam Petroleum Construction and Assembly Joint-stock Corporation (PVC) worth 60 million USD.

The country now can produce between 15,000 and 30,000 litres of ethanol a day by small-scaled factories using out-of-date technology in southern and central regions./.