Vietnam implements plan of action to develop shipbuilding industry

A comprehensive action plan is now in place to propel the growth of the local shipbuilding industry, the Vietnam Investment Review reported on November 17.
A comprehensive action plan is now in place to propel the growth of thelocal shipbuilding industry, the Vietnam Investment Review reported onNovember 17.

The action plan to develop the industry submitted bythe Ministry of Transport (MoT) was just approved by the Prime Ministeras part of the Vietnam-Japan cooperative framework to 2020, with visiontowards 2030.

“The action plan carries the dual target ofreviving the industry and changing the perception that Vietnam couldonly build low-grade ships,” Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen VanCong was quoted as saying.

A major highlight in the action planincludes Vietnam's pursuing the target of quickly and stronglydeveloping the shipbuilding industry to grab a bigger share in the worldshipbuilding market.

Priority will be placed on manufacturing product lines suitable to the industry’s current capacity and existing market demands.

Fromnow until 2020, the shipbuilding industry will be obligated to fulfilthree targets of posting an average growth rate of 5-7 percent in annualtotal value. It will also allocate 70-80 percent of its productioncapacity to serve the domestic market, and has set a target of shipexport volume of 1.76-2.16 million tonnes per year, equal to a 0.48percent share of the world’s shipbuilding market.

To realise thisvision, three specialised shipbuilding complexes will shortly beestablished in the north, centre and south focusing on building shipsbased on existing infrastructure with support from Japan and theRepublic of Korea.

The first step in the 6-year action plan willbe to sharply reduce the number of shipyards before consolidating theminto larger, more efficient developments.

Ship repair facilitieswill also be a key focus. Vietnam will set aside resources to establishthree large-scale ship overhaul centres employing state-of-the artrepair technologies in the three regions, linking them to existing portsand international shipping lines.

In the period to 2020, theserepair yards will meet 90 percent of the demand for repairing low-gradeships and 60-70 percent of the demand for medium-grade ships.

According to the MoT assessment, existing ship repair facilities can only meet 46 percent of the demand of the national fleet.

Vietnamcurrently spends 75 million USD getting ships repaired abroad despitehaving 120 facilities capable of carrying out repair work.

Inrespect of near-term plans, the MoT said it would preside over theestablishment of three shipbuilding complexes and the building ofseveral core businesses while creating a fund to support shipbuildingindustry development from 2015-2020.

Other important tasks areforming strategic partnership relations between potential investors anddomestic shipbuilding firms, shaping associated support industries, anddefining which types of vessels are in high demand.-VNA

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