$630M Investment to Boost Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry

Vietnam National Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin) plans to invest $630 million in a variety of projects to produce components and materials for the industry, in an attempt to improve the local content ratio from 25 percent to 65 percent of components used in the country’s shipbuilding industry, according to a Vietnam Shipping Times report. Under the plan Vinashin will produce rolled steel to build the hulls of ships, manufacture 300-30,000 horsepower diesel engines, steering systems and ship cranes. Locally-made steel will account for 25.6 percent of total steel in ships constructed in Vietnam, while the local content ratio of engines will amount to 23.2 percent, and that of steering systems, 6.3 percent, according to the report. Along with the increase in local content ratio of components used for building ships, the ability of shipbuilding factories to construct ships will have to be improved. Vinashin will invest $107 million in shipyard projects in the northern coastal province of Nam Dinh with the aim of making the province the country’s third largest shipbuilding center after Haiphong and Quang Ninh by 2010. Source: The Vietnam Shipping Times