SK Ecoplant Enters 'Vietnam Waste Fishing Net Recycling Business'

Selected as a Preliminary Project for the 'KOICA Platform ESG Initiative'

SK ecoplant announced on the 12th that it has been selected as a preliminary project for the 'KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) Platform ESG Initiative.'

Lee Dae-hyuk, Head of Global Eco BU at SK Ecoplant (left), and Jung Taek-soo, CEO of Netspa, are holding the agreement and posing for a commemorative photo. (Provided by SK Ecoplant)

On the 12th, SK ecoplant signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with KOICA, a development aid agency, at KOICA headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to promote the 'KOICA Platform ESG Initiative.'

Through this agreement, SK ecoplant will carry out a project to collect discarded fishing nets dumped into the sea in the south-central region of Vietnam and produce recycled nylon from them. SK ecoplant aims to recycle 8,000 tons of discarded fishing nets annually, achieve a carbon reduction of 50,000 tons per year, and create more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs. This project will be conducted over five years from 2024 to 2028, with KOICA supporting 5 billion KRW, half of the total project cost of 10 billion KRW.

Since 2022, KOICA has been operating the 'KOICA Platform ESG Initiative.' The project scale is up to 10 billion KRW per case, and KOICA provides up to 5 billion KRW in grants per individual project annually (based on a 5-year project period). Applying a 1:1 matching basis, companies also invest resources equal to KOICA's contribution.

For this project, SK ecoplant has decided to collaborate with Netspar, a startup specializing in discarded fishing net recycling. Accordingly, SK ecoplant and Netspar plan to establish a joint venture (JV) specializing in discarded fishing net recycling within this year and jointly promote the project in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries.

Both companies plan to complete the installation of discarded fishing net recycling facilities and begin trial operations by the first half of next year. From the second half, they will fully commence the production of recycled nylon on an annual scale of 8,000 tons. The recycled nylon will be reproduced into long fibers for clothing, as well as parts for automobiles and electronic devices.

Lee Dae-hyuk, Head of SK ecoplant Global Eco BU, said, "Since this project was selected as a new preliminary project for the ‘KOICA Platform ESG Initiative,’ we plan to actively cooperate with KOICA and Netspar for the economic and social development of developing countries." He added, "We will contribute to solving the marine pollution problem faced by Vietnam, secure sustainability for customers in the textile, electronics, and automotive industries through the supply of recycled nylon, and take the lead in establishing a circular economy model."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.