Taipei  - Taiwan's petrochemical giant Formosa Plastic Group will build what could be South-east Asia's biggest deepwater port to facilitate its 19-billion-US-dollar steel and petrochemical complex projects in north-central Vietnam, officials said Monday.

"We are planning to build a deepwater port, which we hope would be the biggest in South-east Asia," a spokesman for Formosa Heavy Industries, an affiliate of the group, said.

Under the 1.2 billion-US-dollar plan, Son Duong deepwater port, located in the north central province of Ha Tinh, would be able to accommodate vessels with capacity between 200,000 and 400,000 dead weight tonnes (DWT).

The port will have a passage way 400 metres wide and 6,748 meters long, and in some places, its water depth can reach as much as 24 metres, the spokesman said.

"It would be a very difficult task in terms of excavation," he said without giving the date of completion.

Formosa Heavy Industries recently received the green light by the Vietnamese government to build a 12.47-billion-US-dollar petrochemical and oil refinery project in Vung Ang Economic Zone - a year after it started building a 6.7-billion-US-dollar steel complex next to its planned petrochemical project site.

The Taiwanese company was issued the licence by the Vietnamese government last year to build the steel complex in the economic zone under the condition that it invested in building the Son Duong deepwater port.

The Vietnamese government has hoped that together with the nearby Vung Ang port, the Son Duong deepwater port could create favourable conditions for Ha Tinh to become an important gateway to the sea for north-central Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and other countries in the region. (dpa)