Inside a cement factory in Quảng Ninh Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Construction (MoC) has submitted several additional proposals to the National Assembly to address an ongoing cement oversupply that has been causing significant losses for the sector.

However, these proposals have yet to be approved or incorporated into the law, leaving the industry to continue facing persistent challenges.

The ministry highlighted these issues in a report to the Prime Minister following news that the cement sector has yet to resolve its ongoing supply and demand issues.

The MoC said it had proposed adding cement sector planning to the list of specialised technical planning under the Planning Law. However, this proposal was not approved by the National Assembly during the revision of the Planning Law on November 29, 2024. As a result, the cement supply issues remain unresolved.

Việt Nam has 92 cement production lines with a combined capacity of over 122 million tonnes per year, according to the report. However, in 2024, total cement and clinker output reached about 95 million tonnes, with domestic consumption estimated at 65.3 million tonnes and exports at 29.7 million tonnes. This means that cement production lines operated at just 77 per cent of their total design capacity last year.

Since 2011, investment in cement production has been guided by the Prime Minister's plan for the development of Việt Nam's cement industry, as outlined in Decision No. 1488 (Plan 1488).

As part of this plan, cement consumption reached 72.7 million tonnes in 2015, meeting 98 per cent of the target, and increased to 100.2 million tonnes per year in 2020, surpassing the plan by 7 per cent.

However, since 2020, cement supply has increased significantly following the Planning Law approved in 2017, which abolished Plan 1488. As a result, investment in cement production lines is now governed by market mechanisms and investment laws, falling under the authority of provincial peoples' committees. Local governments have granted in-principle approval for the development of 13 cement production lines, with a combined design capacity of 35.3 million tonnes per year.

Amid the rapid increase in cement factories, the MoC has submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister outlining a strategy for developing Việt Nam's construction materials sector through 2030. The strategy includes a roadmap for cement factory investments. Specifically, the total design capacity will be capped at 125 million tonnes per year by the end of this year and 150 million tonnes per year by 2030.

In 2021, the ministry sent a document to the people's committees, urging them to carefully consider the approval of investment policies for cement production projects. It also emphasised the need to avoid widespread investment that could lead to oversupply and the waste of social resources. — VNS