Wanhua Chemical Group Co. Ltd. has selected Louisiana for a $1.2 billion MDI project, according to Gov. John Bel Edwards.
MDI, or methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, is a polyurethane precursor. Edwards and Wanhua Chemical Chairman and CEO Zengtai Liao announced the project on April 10.
The agreement will see a $954 million capital investment by Wanhua with a further $166 million investment by project partners. No further details of the partners were given.
Wanhua had announced exclusively to Urethanes Technology International that it was considering building an MDI splitter on the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2014. The company added it was considering a 400 kT/year MDI facility on the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2015.
The project is expected to create 170 new direct jobs and it will be the second largest foreign direct investment in Louisiana by company based in China following a $1.85 billion method or complex being built by Yuhuang chemical.
Louisiana Economic Development, a state economic agency, said Wanhua chose the site after the state of Louisiana offered a competitive incentive package that includes a grant of $4.3 million to offset site infrastructure costs, and that Wanhua is expected to use state jobs and industrial tax exemptions.
While committing to the state, Wanhua has yet to announce its final site choice. LED said that "immediate access to an abundant supply of natural gas and other feedstocks, along with deep water transportation by the Mississippi River made Louisiana a natural fit for Wanhua's investment."