Representatives of Hung Vuong Cement Plant and Vietnam Construction and Machinery Installation Corp, or Lilama, signed an engineering and procurement (EPC) contract on Saturday in Hanoi to build the plant in the northern province of Phu Tho. Once in place, the cement plant will annually produce 910,000t of clinker. Lilama general director Pham Hung said the EPC contract would be jointly realized by his corporation, the Tianjin Cement Design Institute, the Corporation for Housing and Urban Development, and the Phu Tho Cement and Limestone Co. The plant, which has a designed capacity of 2500tpd clinker, is expected to go into operation by the end of 2005.