Contractors have broken ground on a $3 billion chemical plant complex in Southwest Louisiana. The project is a joint venture between Lotte Chemical Corp. of South Korea and Axiall Corp. of Georgia, and will include the construction of a $1.9 billion ethane cracker complex and a $1.1 billion monoethylene glycol plant. Both will be constructed on 250 acres of property near Axiall's Lake Charles chloralkali chemical plant.
Chip Swearngan, head of corporate communications and public relations for Axiall Corp., says contractors have recently completed site preparation of clearing trees and bringing in limestone. They also constructed a heavy equipment road and prepared the site to receive barges which will transport equipment from Lake Charles.