The BIDV and Bac A Bank have agreed to provide credit worth $147m to build a cement plant in Nghe An province. - Photo www.baomoi.com

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and Bac A Bank signed a VND3.1 trillion ($147 million) credit agreement on August 13 with the Tan Thang Cement Joint Stock Company to build a cement plant.

The credit has a maximum term of 12 years.

The Tan Thang cement project, with total investment capital of more than VND4.5 trillion ($204 million), will be built in Quynh Luu District in central Nghe An Province. It is one of few localities in Viet Nam that have huge reserves of mineral resources to produce cement.

The plant is designed to have a capacity of 1.98 million tonnes of cement per year.

Around 30 per cent of its products will be exported.

The plant, a key project in the province, is part of the cement industry's development planning to 2020 and orientation to 2030, approved by the Prime Minister in 2011.

Its production line will come from leading cement equipment manufacturers such as Bedeschi (Italy), ThyssenKrupp (Germany), Loesche (Germany), Haver & BOECKER (Germany) and ABB (Switzerland).

Estimated consumption of cement this year will be 72-74 million tonnes, up from 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent compared to 2014, according to the Ministry of Construction. Domestic consumption is expected to be about 53-54 million tonnes and exports 9-20 million tonnes.

In the first six months of 2015, cement production was estimated at 34.16 million tonnes, an increase of 6 per cent compared to the same period of 2014.

Domestic consumption stood at 25.97 million tonnes, up 5 per cent, while exports totaled an estimated 8.19 million tonnes, up 7.7 per cent compared to the same period last year. — VNS