Lafarge, which first moved into the Ho Chi Minh City region in 2001 with ready mix concrete operations, has just inaugurated its first cement grinding plant on the Long Tau river, 25km south-east of Ho Chi Minh City, in the Dong Nai province.

The construction and commissioning of this 500,000 ton grinding facility with a private port was achieved in less than eighteen months, for a total investment cost of US$30 million. It is the first project of Lafarge Xi Mang, the Joint Venture in which Lafarge owns a 70% interest alongside a Vietnamese building materials company.

The project is rapidly expected to create value for shareholders thanks to the construction market’s strong pace of expansion, particularly in the Ho Chi Minh City region.

This project, in a region undergoing rapid economic and urban development, is in line with the Group’s strategy of focusing on fast growing markets. Lafarge is also expanding its gypsum activities in Vietnam, with the recent construction of a wallboard factory.