Construction of a cement plant started in Hoi Son commune, Anh Son district, in the central province of Nghe An, on Nov. 25.

The project will be carried out with an investment of 800 billion VND (44.4 million USD) by the PetroVietnam Construction Corporation and the September 12 Oil and Gas Cement Joint Stock Company.

The project aims to replace vertical shaft kiln technology with rotary kiln technology to reduce particulates in the region’s air and boost the capacity of the old cement plant to 550,000 tonnes a year from the current 90,000 tonnes.

Once operational in the first quarter of 2011, the plant is expected to meet the demand for cement in the region, as well as to build the Luang Prabang hydro-power plant in Laos./.