Ministry says no new cement plants until 2020

Ministry says no new cement plants until 2020

A cement factory in Hai Phong City Vietnam will stop investing in new cement factories until 2020 as supply is increasingly outpacing demand, the Ministry of Construction has said.

In a note to city and provincial People’s Committees nationwide, the ministry said Vietnam had invested in 97 cement production lines with a total capacity of 57.4 million tons per year as of the end of 2009. Another 13 production lines are expected to add 11.72 million tons this year. That output will exceed domestic demand by around two million tons, according to the note. The ministry expects that current facilities will be producing 102 million tons a year by 2020, seven million tons more than projected national demand. The ministry said its request to suspend all cement investment was approved Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, who said the move would help the local cement industry develop more healthily.