BATON ROUGE - Governor John Bel Edwards announced Wednesday that Formosa Plastics is investing hundreds of millions of dollars into its Baton Rouge site.

The company will invest $332 million to expand its production of polyvinyl chloride resin, or PVC. Formosa Plastics also will add production equipment in two other units of the company’s Baton Rouge manufacturing facility, which FPC has operated since 1981.

The project will create 15 new direct jobs with an average annual salary of $77,667, plus benefits. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in 66 new indirect jobs, for a total of 81 new jobs in East Baton Rouge Parish and the Capital Region. Formosa Plastics also will retain 230 existing jobs. The expansion work is expected to create 500 construction jobs beginning in early 2020.

The Formosa Plastics Baton Rouge facility consists of three operating units to produce PVC, a synthetic plastic polymer with a variety of uses in the construction industry, including as insulation on electrical wires, in flooring for buildings needing a sterile environment, and as piping and siding.