Samsung’s $862 Million Chemical Plant in Bolivia Largest Investment in Country’s History

The urea and ammonia plant being built by South Korea’s Samsung in central Bolivia will begin operating in 2016, President Evo Morales said.

Work is progressing satisfactorily and the plant is expected to be completed by the end of next year, Morales said during an inspection of the facility on Saturday.

The $862.5 million petrochemical plant in the city of Entre Rios is the biggest investment project in Bolivia’s history.

Morales was accompanied on his tour by Carlos Villegas, the CEO of state-owned energy company YPFB.

About 80 percent of the urea produced by the plant will be exported and the remaining 20 percent will be used domestically, Morales said.

The plant will make Bolivia self-sufficient in fertilizer production, the president said.

The Andean nation currently imports all the fertilizer it uses, Morales said.

The Entre Rios plant is expected to produce 756,000 metric tons of urea annually and will consume about 1.4 million cubic meters per day of natural gas.

Published in Latino Daily News