Vietnam’s cement industry will need $3.4 billion of investment capital to satisfy burgeoning demand for cement by 2010, said the Ministry of Construction.
The demand for cement is forecast to increase by 10.5-11.5 per cent annually in the period of 2006-2010, and will reach 50 million tons by 2010, said a workshop yesterday in Hanoi co-organized by the Vietnam Cement Association and International Financial Corporation (IFC).
According to the industry master plan, cement factories in the country will have combined capacity of 60 million tons a year by 2010, fully meeting the national demand by that year.
Vietnam is also estimated to need 35.6 million tons in 2007, 35.7 million tons in 2008 and 44.4 million tons in 2009.
Last year, the national demand for cement reached 32.5 million tons.
Currently, some 30 cement projects with a total capacity of 35 million tons are being carried out. Thus, the country will have some 40 operational reverter furnace cement plants by 2010.
The Vietnam National Cement Corporation (VNCC), the country’s biggest cement producer with output accounting for half of the whole industry, plans in 2007 to kick off five large cement projects totaling over VND16.6 trillion ($1.03 billion).
The industry has been growing steadily for the last 10 years. The sector contributed some 10-12 per cent of the entire industrial sector’s share of GDP.
A representative from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) said the corporation had invested over $500 million in more than 25 companies in Vietnam, including cement enterprises.
IFC said one of the major driving forces for industrial growth in the coming years will be the development of infrastructure. This promises many new investment opportunities in Vietnam, especially in the building materials sector including cement industry. (Local news sources)
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