Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has called for the acceleration of construction of the Dung Quat Oil Refinery to have the plant in operation by February 2009.

Deputy PM Hai, who is also head of the State Steering Committee for Key Oil and Gas Works, made the request at a meeting in central Quang Ngai province on June 9 to discuss construction of the country’s first oil refinery.

Putting the plant into operation as scheduled is the responsibility of all management units and contractors before the National Assembly and the people, the Deputy PM said.

He also asked all involved organisations to improve their management to reduce risks and ensure labour safety.

According to Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group, Truong Van Tuyen, so far around 93.5 percent of the required work under EPC tender packages has been fulfilled, including the designing, procurement and construction work.

Construction of the oil refinery began in June 2005. The oil refinery has a designed capacity of 6.5 million tonnes per year and is expected to meet one-third of the country’s demand for oil and petroleum.