Vietnamese authorities have told project owners not to start new cement projects because of the country’s current oversupply of the building material.
Cement consumption in Vietnam has been below what was expected because of the sluggish property markets, with several construction and housing projects still being delayed. Now, supply is higher than demand as the total capacity of the cement industry in the country reaches about 70 million tonnes, while yearly consumption totals at just 61 million tonnes, with 48 million tonnes for local consumption.
In 2013, the Ministry of Construction made its decision to cancel nine projects to produce clinkers with below 2,500tonnes in capacity per day. In 2014, the ministry will continue evaluating cement projects and scrap all those regarded as not eligible from the master plan and seven other projects will be deferred until early 2017, according to a leader form the Building Materials department of the ministry. Five more cement factories will likely begin operating in 2014, contributing additional production of seven million tonnes annually.
