Hoa Phat, a Vietnamese steelmaker, has announced it will invest US$ 130 million in the construction of a new container factory in June. The new factory will be near Ho Chi Minh City. This new factory, when fully operational, will have a capacity of 500,000 TEU per year, mainly 20ft and 40ft. The initial power will be 180,000-200,000 TEU a year.

Vu Duc Sinh, Director of the Hoa Phat Container Manufacturing JSC, said: “We chose Ba Ria – Vung Tau to set up our first factory because it is located in the economic engine area of the Southeast region, close to major seaports such as Cat Lai, Cai Mep-Thi Vai, besides others advantages which could ensure the success of the project.”

There is currently an extreme shortage of containers. Hoa Phat believes it can be very competitive with the Chinese manufacturers. Three Chinese manufacturers now produce around 80 percent of the containers; CIMC, DFIC and CXIC.

Hoa Phat Dung Quat Steel Steel Integrated Complex will make the raw materials for the production of the shipping containers. Due to the fact that Hoa Phat is, therefore, a self-supplier of material resources, it can offer the containers for reasonable prices.