The provincial People’s Committee approved both the project’s investment policy and QNS as its investor on October 5.
The An Khe Ethanol Plant will occupy about eight hectares in An Khe Ward and have a 50-year operating term.
Construction is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2027, after investment procedures are completed in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The plant is designed to produce 200,000 litres of fuel ethanol a day and 21 million litres of food-grade alcohol a year.
Its other planned outputs include 90 tonnes of liquid carbon dioxide, 11.2 tonnes of dried yeast and 0.5 tonnes of fusel oil a day, alongside seven megawatts of electricity generation capacity.
QNS will contribute more than VND 558.4 billion (approximately US$22.3 million) in equity, with loans financing the remainder.
The approval requires the company to comply with environmental protection regulations and invest in and upgrade exhaust gas and wastewater treatment systems to meet applicable standards.
QNS must also assess the combined environmental effects of operating the sugar, biomass power and ethanol plants, and prepare plans to prevent and respond to environmental incidents.
If the plants cause pollution or adversely affect the environment and local residents’ lives, the investor must halt operations and compensate for damage in accordance with its commitments.
The company must coordinate with local authorities to consult residents and secure community consensus during implementation.
It is also required to meet its tax obligations, support local transport infrastructure and social welfare improvements, and prioritise local recruitment once the plant opens.
Provincial departments and the An Khe Ward People’s Committee will guide, inspect and supervise implementation.
The approval will be revoked if, within 12 months of its issuance, the investor fails to begin implementation or cannot proceed according to the registered schedule without a valid reason.
QNS was equitized from a state-owned enterprise in 2005 and officially listed on UPCoM at the end of 2016, with a charter capital of over VND 3,676 billion.
The investment in the An Khê Ethanol Plant is the next step in QNS’s strategy to develop the sugarcane value chain, while also expanding into biofuels and the circular economy.
In An Khê, QNS currently operates the An Khê Sugar Factory with a capacity of 18,000 tons of sugarcane per day, with plans to increase this to 25,000 tons per day, alongside a refined sugar line with a capacity of 1,000 tons per day.
The factory is considered the largest sugarcane processing facility in Vietnam, accounting for over 20% of the country’s processed sugar output. The company is also upgrading the An Khê Biomass Power Plant from 95 MW to 135 MW, using bagasse as fuel.
In addition to sugar and energy, QNS also owns brands such as Vinasoy, Thạch Bích, Biscafun, and Dung Quất Beer, among others.