Lafarge SA said it will build a cement-grinding plant in Vietnam at a cost of about US$30m.
The project will be funded by Lafarge’s 70 per cent-held DonaFrance venture in the country. Construction is due to start in October, and is due to enter service during late 2005.
’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,’ the company said.
Meanwhile, France’s Societe Generale has agreed to lend US$150m to a Vietnam state-run cement producer to finance the construction of a US$302m cement plant.
State media said the borrower, Vietnam Cement Corp, would seek the remaining funds needed for the project, which has a designed capacity of 1.6 million tonnes of clinker and 2.2Mt of cement per year, from other sources.
