VIETNAM: Bridgestone starts work on Hai Phong tyre plant

Speaking at the hand-over ceremony that was attended by high ranking leaders of the city's members of the Economic Zone Authority, Duong Anh Dien, chairman of the city People's Committee, said the tyre plant is the biggest FDI (foreign direct investment) project in the city so far.

"We believe that the project is a major breakthrough in the city's industrial development," Dien said.

Yazaki Susumu, general director of Bridgestone Tyre Manufacturing Vietnam (BTMW), said the 575 million USD plant would have a production capacity of 24,700 units per day. He said production would start in the first half of 2014.

"Once the products are launched, they all will be exported to Japan, Europe and the US with a made-in-Vietnam label. The project will create 1,900 jobs," he said.

BTMW is the fifth Japanese firm to invest in the Hai Phong IZ, after Nakashima (propeller production), RK Engineering (steel tank production), SIC (LAS production) and Shin-Etsu (rare earth magnet production).

The compaby said it picked the Hai Phong IZ because of its strategic location, access to a port and lucrative tax incentives. The plant will occupy a 102 ha site.

The IZ is currently in the process of expanding to 377 ha. At the end of last year, a waste water treatment plant, with a capacity of 2,500 cu.m per day, became operational.

It has attracted 1.5 billion USD in investment, with Japanese firms making up 45 percent of the total capital.

Source: Daily "VietnamPlus", Hanoi; 2 Feb 2012

(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)