Vinashin to Invest $18.9m in Ca Mau Project

According to reports, Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin) recently announced it would invest $18.9m in the construction of a shipyard in the southernmost province of Ca Mau. Vinashin said it had selected a 54 hectare site in the province’s Nam Can District for the new facility, which is to be used to build ships displacing 5,000-10,000 tons, the average size of its current fleet. Up to 4,000 employees will work at the new shipyard once it is operational in 2008, and the State-owned company is already working with provincial authorities to train local workers. Vinashin said its latest project was part of its plan to increase local content in shipbuilding to 65 percent by 2010, which would require investment of about $633 m. The company is to focus on producing rolled steel for ship hulls, 300 to 30,000 horsepower diesel engines, steering systems and onboard cranes, it said. These projects would increase the localisation rate from the current 25 percent, with locally-made steel accounting for 26 per cent of average total dead weight tonnage, and engine and steering systems accounting for about 23 and 6 per cent, respectively. Source: VNS