Delegates started construction on a dairy farming and milk processing project in Yakovlevsky District, Primorsky territory, Russia on May 21. — Photo TH Group

RUSSIA — TH Group began constructing a dairy farming and milk processing plant in Nikolo-Mikhailovka village, Yakovlevsky District, in Russia's Far East on May 21.

With a total investment of 19 billion rubles (more than US$210 million), the project aims to build a farm with 6,000 dairy cows (out of a total herd of 12,000 cows) and a milk processing factory with a capacity of 250 tonnes/day, as well as exploit a raw material area of ​​13,000 hectares.

The project is an important milestone in implementing TH's dairy project complex in the Russian Federation, following successes in Kaluga Province and Moscow, where TH farms and factories are considered key economic development projects.

The project is expected to help rekindle the great agricultural potential that has been long neglected in the Far East.

"The first items for the dairy farm — a warm home for 6,000 dairy cows — will quickly be implemented. To implement the herd development plan, we are committed to fully reclaiming the 13,000 hectares of land to ensure food sources for the entire herd of cows," Ngô Minh Hải, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TH Group, said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Hải added that by the end of 2027, when the dairy factory is put into operation, 100 per cent of input materials will be provided from the farm cluster, officially forming a closed high-tech production chain “from farm to the glass of milk", contributing to the growth of gross product in the Primorsky region.

In addition to raising dairy cows and processing milk, TH Group also grows plants such as alfalfa and soybeans for export.

At the event, Nguyễn Đăng Hiền, Consul General of Vietnam in Vladivostok, said that this was the first project for Vietnamese enterprises investing in this area. It also represents a new step in developing relations and economic investment between the two countries, taking place in spite of recent difficulties following the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical fluctuations.

TH Group recognises the potential and opportunities for investors in the Far East region. After Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev’s official visit to Việt Nam and a meeting with TH Group to introduce the potential of the Far East region in early 2017, TH Group sent a delegation of experts to survey potential lands in Primorsky Krai. TH officially became a member of the Mikhailovsky Outstanding Economic Development Zone (belonging to the Outstanding Economic Zones of the Far East) in September 2017.

To date, TH Group has invested US$2.7 billion in the dairy project complex in the Russian Federation, including two farms with more than 6,000 dairy cows, a farm currently under construction in Moscow, and a dairy factory in Kaluga Province. — VNS