$80 mln beef project to break ground in northern Vietnam next year

A VND2,000 billion ($80.4 million) complex to raise cows and process beef will break ground in March 2023 in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.

An agreement to this effect was reached Friday by Vinh Phuc authorities, Vietnam's largest dairy company Vinamilk and Japanese trading giant Sojitz.

The parties to the agreement have formed a joint venture to invest in the 72-hectare project in Tam Dao district.

Vinh Phuc Chairman Le Duy Thanh asked the provincial department of natural resources and environment to hand over the land to investors for phase 1 of the project by November 10. The transport department was requested to build a road to the project site by December 31.

The project is part of an agreement signed between Vietnam’s largest dairy company Vinamilk, Vietnam Livestock Corporation JSC (VLC) and Sojitz Corporation during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's 2021 visit to Japan.

The $500-million project's $80.4 million first phase is set to become operational in 2023 with 30,000 heads of cattle per year. In June, VLC, also a subsidiary of Vinamilk, announced it would transfer the beef project to Japan Vietnam Livestock Company Limited (JVL), a joint venture between VLC and Sojitz.

Vinh Phuc has so far attracted 440 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth $7.3 billion, Hoang Thuy Lan, chief of the provincial Party Committee, had said at a conference in June.

Japan is the second-biggest investor in the province with $1.4 billion in nearly 60 projects, behind South Korea, which has $2.4 billion in over 200 projects.