Formosa Plastics affiliate FG LA LLC said it is deferring major construction on a petrochemical facility in St. James Parish, The Advocate reported.
Formosa Plastics is citing the coronavirus pandemic for its decision to delay construction work on its $9.4 billion petrochemicals project in Louisiana.
A statement from the company said building won’t begin until the pandemic has subsided or there’s an effective, widely available vaccine. It’s unclear whether either of those might occur, but health experts don’t expect large numbers of vaccine doses before early next year.
The pandemic’s impacts, “including the challenge it creates in evaluating construction costs and the restrictions it has placed on international travel, are being felt across all industries and businesses,” a spokeswoman for FG LA LLC, said in a statement.
Site preparation work is still expected continue on the facility, which will be located on 2,400 acres of land on the Mississippi River.
The project was planned to be built in two phases and produce ethylene, propylene, ethylene glycol and associated polymers, which are used to make products such as plastic bottles, grocery bags, drainage pipes, ropes, artificial turf, polyester clothing, antifreeze and playground equipment.
Formosa Petrochemical already operates a major petrochemical and plastics site in Point Comfort, Texas.