Construction of Rang Dong Industrial Zone (IZ), a large-scale zone dedicated to the textile and garment industry, starts on Tuesday in the northern province of Nam Dinh.

The IZ, the largest of its kind in the country, is one of Nam Dinh’s key projects, the provincial People’s Committee vice chairman Ngo Gia Tu said at the ground-breaking ceremony.

Currently, the textile and garment industry contributes 40 per cent of the province’s total production output, Tu said, expressing hope that once operational, the IZ will accelerate provincial development.

Financed by Rang Dong Investment JSC, the zone costs about VND5 trillion (US$213 million) in the first phase. It will cover 1,500 hectares in Nghia Hung District, Tran Minh Hoan, head of the provincial IZs Authority, said

Once completed, the IZ will be able to produce one billion metres of fabric per year and employ thousands of people, Hoan said.

Nam Dinh has held a series of investment promotion activities in countries such as South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the US to advertise investment opportunities in the IZ.

Several investors have shown interest in investing in the zone, he said.

The event also saw two Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) inked between Rang Dong Investment JSC and other investors. The MoUs focus on the development of a 40ha-garment and textile village and a weaving and dyeing factory.

According to experts, developing large-scale IZs dedicated to the textile and garment industry will help Viet Nam improve its competitiveness and enjoy the benefits of preferential tariffs in free trade agreements.

The country’s garment and textile exports experienced a year-on-year increase of 11.2 per cent to US$6.84 billion in the first quarter of this year, according to the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association. — VNS