Bel Vietnam broke ground for a new US$17 million plant in southern Binh Duong Province yesterday. — VNS Photo

BINH DUONG (Biz Hub) — Bel Vietnam, the manufacturer of Laughing Cow cheese, broke ground for a new US$17 million plant in southern Binh Duong Province yesterday.

The 17,000sq.m plant in Song Than 3 Industrial Park will commence its first phase of operations in the third quarter of 2016.

Speaking at the ceremony, Bel Vietnam CEO Chafiq Hammadi said, "With an eye on the strategy for Viet Nam and ASEAN moving forward, we have decided to significantly increase our manufacturing presence here."

The new facility will replace the company's current plant with its floor space eventually increasing to around five times the current size and output could eventually increase almost nine-fold to 15,000 tonnes of products per annum.

Designed with a LOTUS standard from Vietnam Green Building Council, the new factory is seen as the new environmentally friendly manufacturing hub for Bel's range of products.

The plant will also have an R&D centre to develop, test and taste new products for Viet Nam and other markets in the Asia Pacific.

"This new facility is part of a broader strategy that places Viet Nam at the centre of our regional growth plans," Hammadi said. — VNS