Appalachia looks to Asia to revive economic hopes

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio — A slice of Appalachia along the Ohio River still struggling decades after losing manufacturing jobs in the steel, aluminum and glass industries to overseas competition is looking to Asia to revive the region’s fortunes with a more pliable product — plastic.

A Thai chemical company and, more recently, its new South Korean partner, are taking halting steps toward building a multibilliondollar petrochemical plant in eastern Ohio that would “crack” molecules of ethane, a byproduct of natural gas drilling, into the raw material used to produce plastic products.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has said the project, which would create thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions, would be a “game changer.” Kasich said in an interview with The Associated Press that the cracker plant could draw in other companies much like Honda did after opening its Marysville assembly plant in 1982.

“These hardscrabble areas would clearly be helped,” Kasich said. “I’m not saying if this comes, everyone’s problems will be solved. But these are great developments.”

Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical has been working on plans to build a cracker plant for several years, injecting optimism in an area of eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia where the effect of a shale gas boom on the local economy has been helpful but limited.

But PTT also has engendered skepticism after failing to keep promises about when it would announce its intentions. At a news conference in March, the PTT-Daelim partnership said it would decide by year’s end.

Lou Krupa, an 80-yearold resident of Shadyside, a village a few miles from the proposed site in an area of Belmont County called Dilles Bottom, said PTT lost credibility when it reneged on a promise last year to announce a decision by the end of 2017.

“I don’t know why an Asian company would come in and build that,” he said.

Steve Beltrondo, 74, a retired power plant worker from Shadyside, said of the delays: “We’ve been listening to this for three years.”

Dan Williamson, a spokesman for PTT and Daelim, said last week that he understands the frustration.

“This is a big deal for that community,” Williamson said. “And they want to know if this is going to happen or not. We completely understand that.”

Williamson said the final decision rests solely on the economic feasibility of the project. The company, he said, has spent over $100 million on land acquisition and planning to this point.