Workers sew shirts at a factory of the Garment 10 Corporation - Joint Stock Company under the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex). The group has recently cooperated with Japanese companies to complete supply chain to boost its textile export revenue. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet

Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper reported that the agreement, signed in early April, is a joint project to develop integrated processes, from knitting, dying and sewing to knitting.

The cooperation shows the readiness of Vinatex to welcome opportunities offered by free trade agreements, which are expected to be signed in the near future.

The project has a total investment of US$12 million and aims to construct and manage three factories. The first factory for weaving and dying has a capacity of 2,500 tonnes of knitting products per year. The second for sewing has a capacity of 10 million products per year, and the wastewater treatment plant may treat some 1,200 cubic meters of wastewater per day.

Dang Vu Hung, deputy general director of Vinatex and VTJ's general director, said all the factories were equipped with modern technology and adequate infrastructure. This is the most advanced textile manufacturing zone in the central region, he said.

The construction of the factories in the industrial zone, which is located in Hai Lang District in the central province of Quang Tri, is expected to be completed and ready for operation this year. Its revenue is projected to increase significantly from $8 million in 2015 to $40 million two years later.

Vinatex's general director, Le Tien Truong, said, "The resources of foreign investors, from capital and technology to markets, along with the resources of local enterprises will help the project to run and do business effectively."

TOMS Co., LTD, established in 1981 and headquartered in Tokyo, is the leading firm in Japan producing T-shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, blousons and uniforms, gaining revenue of $200 million per year. It has six branches in the country. In China, its factory produces knitting garment products.

Japan is the third-largest importer of Vietnamese goods, with an expected turnover of some $3 billion this year. Therefore, the joint venture will give Viet Nam the opportunity to boost its textile export turnover to Japan.

Earlier, in January, Vinatex signed a cooperative agreement with Japan's Itochu Corporation to implement a series of projects involving closed processes in weaving and dying and material manufacturing in Viet Nam. Over the next five years, the projects are expected to earn total revenue of $60 million and create thousands of jobs in the country.

In the context of the lack of capital and human resources, cooperation with competent partners such as Tom's and Itochu will help the Vietnamese textile industry become more independent and make use of opportunities to expand business operations in various markets and to develop materials. It also ensures the prominence of Vietnamese textiles in global textile production.

After the project in Quang Tri Province is complete, Vinatex plans to extend the model of joint ventures to the country's northern provinces, including Thai Binh and Nam Dinh, with other foreign partners who wish to invest in Viet Nam. — VNS