The factory locates in Thuy Nguyen District, Hai Phong City.— Photo VN Plus

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Damen-Song Cam Shipyard Company Ltd inaugurated the first phase of its shipbuilding factory in Thuy Nguyen District in the northern port city of Hai Phong on March 20.

The company is a joint venture, with the Damen Group of the Netherlands putting in 70 per cent of the investment capital and Vinashin's Song Cam Shipyard investing 30 per cent.

As planned, the 14 million euro, or $19.28 million, phase, spanning 42 hectares includes a vessel-lifting floor with the capacity of 3,000 tonnes and a factory with a capacity of manufacturing 40 vessels per year.

The company said the factory's second phase would start operations in the next two years with a capacity of manufacturing 80 vessels annually. In the third phase, a shell assembly chain with a capacity of making between 30 and 40 shells per year will start operations to meet the demand of the domestic shipyard.

Once all the phases are complete, the company will create about 1,500 jobs for the local workers, the company stated.

Company Chairman Pim Schuurman told Vietnam Plus that it was the biggest and most modern factory of the Damen Group overseas. Currently, the Damen Group has factories in Poland, the United Kingdom, Romania, Sweden, France, Turkey, South Africa, Cuba, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, China, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.

In Viet Nam, the Damen Group has ties with the Damen Song Cam Shipyard, the Song Thu Corporation, Company 189, the Ben Kien Shipyard and the Ha Long Shipyard.—VNS