The large-scale maintenance and expansion of existing shipyards is the bedrock of a master plan on the development of the ship industry to 2020 recently approved by the prime minister.

The industry also aims to create ship repair hubs which are well connected with seaport system and vital international marine routes.

The plan states that new shipyards should be placed in the northern port cities of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh. Bach Dang shipyard in the former builds liquefied petroleum gas carriers and 30,000-tonne ship containers, while Ha Long ship building factory in the latter specialises in producing sophisticated and high-tech ships or containers with capacity of up to 70,000 tonnes.

For facilities in the central region, with the focus on Quang Ngai and Khanh Hoa provinces, the development strategy will likely be applied to some major ones including Dung Quat ship building factory.

Ship repair workshops are planned to develop in line with new shipyards and seaports, according to the plan, and supporting industry for ship building will be built within the domestic supporting industry zones.-VNA