The Ministry of Construction has mapped out a cement production development plan in the Red River Delta up to 2010, aiming to raise annual cement output to 18Mt by that year in a bid to ease shortages of the product in the region in the coming time.  
 
According to the Construction Material Institute, the Red River Delta is the region with largest cement production capacity in Vietnam as it has favorable conditions for the production of the product such as transport, material sources and others. It is, however, the country’s biggest cement consumption market.  
 
The region has two key potential areas to develop the cement industry including Haiphong and Hai Duong with a series of cement projects which have been invested and built such as the Haiphong Cement Plant, the Chinfon Cement Plant, the Hoang Thach Cement Plant, Phuc Son Cement Plant and others. According to a calculation, however, with the current cement production capacity, the region is forecast to continue to lack cement by 2010, the institute said.  
 
In a related development, Vietnam will need 9Mt of cement in the fourth quarter of this year. The country’s cement demand is forecast to stand at 42-51Mt per year in 2010, two times higher than at present.