Vietnam: According to Vietnam News Agency Bulletin, domestic cement consumption and exports both improved in the first half of 2015 despite increased competitive pressure from neighbouring countries.

Statistics from the construction ministry showed that in the first half of 2015, Vietnam's cement consumption grew by 6% year-on-year to 34.2Mt, meeting 47% of the whole year's target. Of this, domestic consumption was 5% higher than in 2014 at 25.9Mt. Vietnam exported 8.19Mt of cement, representing an 8% year-on-year increase. In June 2015, cement consumption was estimated at 5.68Mt, 12% higher than in 2014, including 4.63Mt in the domestic market and 1.05Mt for exports. The ministry said that cement and clinker exports in the first half of 2015 faced difficult conditions in some markets, especially Bangladesh.

Nguyen Quang Cung, chairman of the Vietnam Cement Association, said that there was no concern about the cement consumption in the 2015 - 2016 period thanks to a rising domestic demand. In 2015, domestic cement consumption is estimated to increase by 5Mt. Cung said that cement consumption in the domestic market has risen thanks to improvement in the real estate market, while rural infrastructures have been actively developed. The ministry has calculated that cement consumption in 2015 will grow by 1.5 – 2% to 72 - 74Mt. Of this, local consumption will be 53 – 54Mt, while 19 – 20Mt will be exported.

In 2015 Vietnam will have two new projects, including the 600,000t/yr capacity Song Lam 2 cement plant and the 3.6Mt/yr capacity Cong Thanh Cement plant. This will bring the country's total cement production lines to 76, with 81.6Mt/yr of designed capacity.

Cement production in 2016 is expected to meet domestic consumption demands plus 15 – 16Mt of exports, in addition to a reserve of 10 – 15% to stabilise the market, especially in the southern region. Cung said that there will not be any new cement projects in 2016, although a number of major projects would be carried out during the 2017 - 2018 period.