Delegates attend the factory's ground-breaking ceremony on Thursday. — Photo VNA

Construction on a US$50 million gypsum factory kicked off in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on Thursday.

Financed by Yoshino Gypsum Co from Japan, the factory covers nearly 6.3ha in Phu My 3 Industrial Zone. The factory’s operations will be divided into two phases. In the first stage, it will produce 150,000 tonnes of gypsum boards each year. In the second phase it will churn out 30,000 tonnes of gypsum joint compound per year.

The factory is slated for completion in late 2020, applying advanced Japanese technologies to produce gypsum products for the Vietnamese market, the investor said.

In his speech at the groundbreaking ceremony, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Long said he believed that the factory will help improve local production technology and generate jobs for local people.

The factory will also provide gypsum products that meet Japanese standards of quality for the construction material market in Viet Nam, he said.

According to the vice chairman, his province will continue improving its business environment and better facilitate businesses.

Japan is one of Ba Ria-Vung Tau's top sources of foreign direct investment and the province is striving to attract more Japanese capital in a series of sectors including logistics, manufacturing and processing, electricity, electronics, plastics, chemicals and petrochemicals, local authorities have said.

Statistics from the provincial Department of Planning and Investment revealed that Japanese investors had invested $2.6 billion in 33 projects in the province, putting the country fifth among all countries and territories investing in the locality.

With productive operations, Japanese firms have generated jobs for more than 3,700 local people. In 2018 alone, they contributed $37 million to the State budget. — VNS