Spanish businesses are interested in the underground and urban railway construction projects in Ho Chi Minh City , said Vice President of the Confederation of Employers and Spanish Industries (CEOE) Jesus Banegas.

At a meeting with Vietnamese companies in Hanoi on Nov. 9, Banegas, who is heading up a delegation of Spanish businesspeople to Vietnam from Nov. 7-13, said that Spanish businesses also want to work with Vietnamese partners to build wharfs, ports, airports and develop renewable energies, nuclear power and telecommunications.

Banegas took the occasion to highlight Vietnam ’s economic achievements, many of them attracting the attention of Spanish businesses.

He said he hoped that Vietnamese State President Nguyen Minh Triet’s upcoming visit to Spain in December will be an opportunity for both countries to enhance ties in business and investment and could be the driving force to increase two-way trade by more than 30 percent in the coming years.

Spain ’s import demands are huge, said Banegas, adding that Vietnam ’s products are winning over Spanish consumers. Spain imports more of Vietnam ’s “tra” and “basa” fish than most other European Union countries, he noted.

Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Pham Gia Tuc underlined that the Vietnamese Government is always keen to facilitate Spanish investments in Vietnam ’s infrastructure, including the construction of HCM City ’s metro network and other large scale projects.

According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, two-way trade has recorded an average annual increase of 20 percent. It fetched 1.2 billion USD in 2008 and recorded a year-on-year rise of 4.9 percent in the first seven months of the year to reach almost 829 million USD.

Vietnam exports footwear, clothes and accessories, coffee, seafood and timber to Spain and imports machinery, organic chemicals, steel and materials for the tanning industry as well as medicines from the country.

Spain ranks 61 st out of 89 countries and territories that invest in Vietnam and currently has 14 valid investment projects totalling more than 11 million USD./.