Four cement projects no longer cast in stone

Four cement projects have been knee-capped because they fall,outside the nation’s cement development plan.

The Ministry of Construction (MoC) last week stopped the Huu Nghi and Yen Mao projects in northern Phu Tho province, the Phu Tan plant in Hai Duong and Ngoc Ha plant in Ha Giang following a review of cement projects under Vietnam’s Cement Industry Development Plan to 2010.

The majority of key cement projects are located in northern and central provinces such as Danang, Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Hoa Binh, Ninh Binh, Nghe An, Quang Ninh and Thanh Hoa.

According to the MoC’s Department for Construction Materials, the four scrapped projects were mostly small-sized and invested by local private enterprises.

The department’s deputy general director Nguyen Van Ngoc said the projects’ cancellation was necessary to take control of the national cement development plan and keep supply-demand on an even keel.

The MoC requested local authorities to submit detailed reports on the four projects’ investment, sites, manufacturing scales, technologies and material supplies. On-the-spot inspections will be then carried out by the MoC, which will be reported to the government.

Under the Cement Industry

Development Plan approved in 2005 by the prime minister, the country will prioritise big-scale cement projects in cities. Remote regions will be allowed to develop projects suitable to the localities but must have the capacity of 1,000 tonnes of clinker per day.

Cement plants must be built nearby material sources and based on local.infrastructure, transportation and demand. Projects which have a capacity of more than 3,000 tonnes of clinker a day must be built nearby limestone mines to provide materials for cement production for 30 years.

Those that have a capacity of less then 3,000 tonnes of clinker a day must have mines supplying materials for 20-25 years.

In September 2009, the Vietnam Cement Association proposed the MoC halt cement project licensing because of cement surplus fears. The association forecast that Vietnam would have a 10 million tonne cement surplus next year if all local cement plants ran at full capacity. The country is expected to produce 50 million tonnes of cement in 2009, 11 percent higher than demand.

Vietnam is on the list of 10 largest cement producers in the world, after China (1.37 billion tonnes), India (160 million tonnes), the United States (113 million tonnes), Japan (68 million tonnes), Thailand (65.7 million tonnes) and Brazil (52.9 million tonnes).

Tags: Vietnam business news, Vietnam cement industry