Govt Approves cement industry’s development plan, Vietnam

The Vietnam Government has approved a 15-year development plan for Vietnam’s cement industry, leading up to 2020.  

Under the plan, efforts will focus on increasing cement production in south and central Vietnam, along with the northern mountain provinces.  

Investment capital will be spent on cement projects with an annual capacity of at least 1Mt of cement, with existing cement units being run at full capacity to meet domestic demand.  

No funding will be provided for cement plants which cannot produce clinker by themselves, and cement producers using under 3,000 tons of clinker per day should have material deposits available for its continuous production for between 20 and 25 years.  

The Government plans to diversify the materials and energy sources used in cement production by exploiting waste from other industrial sectors, and introducing revolving furnace technology, which is more efficient than the vertical furnaces used at present.  

To muster the necessary capital, projects can mobilize domestic financial sources and call on different economic sectors to invest in the industry.  For ongoing foreign joint-venture projects, the production expansion will not be permitted unless Vietnamese capital levels are at least 40%.  

Regarding the 1Mt projects, investors are advised to ensure that domestic mechanical companies enlisted for construction work are sufficiently qualified in the design and usage of technological equipment.  

For these large-scale projects, at least 30% of the total investment amount must be spent on domestically produced equipment.