Paper Industry Needs US$1.85Bln of Investment in 2006-10

Vietnam’s paper industry will need more than US$1.85 billion to expand and build paper and pulp mills between now and 2010 with an aim to raise output capacity to more than one million tons of pulp and nearly two million tons of paper each year, says the Vietnam Paper Association.

Of the total investment, US$710 million will be used for expanding paper and pulp mills, while around $1.15 billion will be mobilized for new construction.

The paper industry will focus on large-scale pulp mills by applying advanced technologies and modern equipment that meet economic and environment protection standards.

The association said in order to mobilize the required capital from all economic sectors, especially foreign direct investment, enterprises in the industry need to promptly restructure themselves and turn into joint stock or join-venture companies.

Presently, paper plants in Vietnam, which are mostly of a small scale and being managed by households, are using outdated technology that leads to the fact that Vietnamese paper products are usually bad in quality and poor in design.

 

With almost 300 pulp and paper mills, Vietnam paper industry is expected to produce 958,000 tons of assorted paper in 2006, a 15 per cent on-year increase, and 760,000 tons of pulp, which will meet 84 per cent of local demand.