Truong Hai Auto JSC (Thaco) inaugurated the Thaco Mazda automobile manufacturing plant, the biggest and most modern Mazda factory in Southeast Asia, in the central province of Quang Nam on March 25 in the presence of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

National Assembly Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu, Special Adviser to the Japanese Cabinet Isao Iijima, and leaders of a number of ministries, agencies and localities also attended the event.

PM Phuc okayed the construction of the VND12 trillion (US$528 million) plant at an investment promotion conference in Quang Nam Province in 2017.

After a year, the first phase of the project has been completed with half of the designed capacity of 100,000 units per year.

Covering 30.3ha in Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, the plant is equipped with cutting-edge technology, meeting the global standards of Japan’s Mazda Group.

Also on March 25, Thaco inaugurated an international shipping route linking Chu Lai and Japan, and welcomed the first vessel transporting automobile spare parts and equipment from Japan’s Hiroshima prefecture to Chu Lai Port to serve the new factory.

Tran Ba Duong, Thaco chairman, said the group plans to build another wharf and has invested VND600 billion in expanding the arterial road from the Chu Lai Port to Da Nang-Quang Ngai Expressway, and building a double-decker roundabout interchange between National Highway 1A, the North-South railway and the arterial road.

PM Phuc lauded cooperation between Mazda and Thaco over the years, saying the collaboration has contributed to the Viet Nam-Japan relationship.

Viet Nam encourages the development of the auto industry, he said, adding that the Government will devise policies to ensure equality between locally-made automobiles and imported ones.

The leader asked Thaco to operate the plant effectively and safely, meeting demands of both domestic and foreign markets.

He also called on Japan’s Mazda Group to continue transfer technologies to Thaco, especially the production of components, and support the company in completing the second phase of the project. — VNS