Thai PTTGC unit plans $807 mln "green" plastic plant

BANGKOK Jan 22 (Reuters) - A 50 percent owned unit of Thailand's PTT Global Chemical Pcl (PTTGC) said on Tuesday it planned to invest 24 billion baht ($807 million) to build a "green" plastic plant to tap strong demand in the Southeast Asian country.

The company will decide later this year about the location of its second plant, but it will preferably be Thailand, given its location and raw materials, Viboon Pungprasert, general manager at NatureWorks Asia Pacific Ltd, told reporters.

NatureWorks Asia Pacific is a joint venture between PTTGC and Cargill Inc. Its "green" bio-plastic products can be developed from a number of agricultural products such as sugar.

U.S-based NatureWorks LLC is the world's largest maker of polylactic acid, which is used to feed polymer plants.