Vietnam shipbuilding needs big investment

Vietnam needs over $1.4 billion to develop its shipbuilding industry by 2010, according to local sources. Under a national shipbuilding development plan, the industry needs this amount of funding to upgrade its facilities with the latest technology.

The country plans to start building ships of 100,000 DWT next year and the Vietnamese merchant fleet is estimated to need up to 150 new vessels with total carrying capacity of 3.6 million tonnes for the period from 2006 to 2010.

The country’s largest shipbuilder, state-owned Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin), has recently accessed China’s preferential loans of $99.8 million to build a big shipyard in the central province of Quang Ngai. After becoming operational in 2008, the Dung Quat shipyard will be able to construct seagoing vessels up to 300,000 DWT and repair ships up to 600,000 DWT.