China Salt to Set up Chemical Base in Hefei     

China Salt Anhui Red Sifang Co., Ltd. was formally established on August 18th in Hefei, the capital city of Anhui province.
   The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission approved in March 2009 the free transfer of a 51% state-owned stake in Anhui Red Sifang Co., Ltd. to China National Salt Industry Corporation (China Salt).
   The rest 49% of the new China Salt Anhui Red Sifang is held by Hefei Industrial Investment Holdings Company.
   China Salt plans to invest RMB10 billion, through China Salt Red Sifang, to build chemical base in Hefei tapping the rich local salt and coal resources. By 2015, it aims to create an industrial base for salt-based chemicals, coal-based chemicals and fine chemicals, featuring circular economy.
   Salt-based chemical projects will include a 1.2 million t/a vacuum salt facility, a 1 million t/a soda ash plant, a 300 000 t/a caustic ash facility and a 320 000 t/a line for PVC resins. The coal-based chemical business includes a 600 000 t/a line for synthetic ammonia, a 1 million t/a line for ammonium chloride, and a 1 million t/a plant for compound fertilizer. The fine chemical sector will house a 60 000 t/a pesticide plant and a 150 000 t/a facility for sodium dithionite.
   The base will be constructed in two phases. The company broke ground for the first phase, which costs RMB6.1 billion, on August 18th, with scheduled completion in 2012. Construction on the RMB5.3 billion second phase will be started in 2012 and completed in 2015.