Masan to invest $150 mln in Mekong Delta food complex

Masan Group, one of Vietnam’s largest listed conglomerates by market value, has got the green light to develop a VND3,500 billion ($150 million) food complex in Hau Giang province, southern Vietnam.

Masan, listed on Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as MSN, will contribute VND1,050 billion from its equity and mobilize the remaining for the project. It is scheduled to be built and then put into operation in 2022-2029.

The project, known as Southwestern Food Industrial Center No.2, covers 46 hectares of land inside Song Hau Industrial Park, Chau Thanh district. It aims to produce and distribute high-quality food, cosmetics, and drinks, among others to the southeastern region (Mekong Delta) and nearby areas.

The complex features four zones. Zone 1, with an area of 20.9 hectares, is for the production of cooked spaghetti and noodles, with an output of 80,000 tons a year; starch noodles (vermicelli, pho, glass noodles), 27,200 tons; spices for noodles, 20,000 tons; general spices (soy sauce, chili sauce), 63,000 tons; and beverages, non-alcoholic drinks, and mineral water, 660 million liters a year.

The 7.82-hectare Zone 2 is for the production of canned or bottled beer and fresh beer, with an output of 100 million liters per year, while Zone 3, covering 8.95 hectares, is for the production of cosmetics, soap, deterrents, cleaning chemicals, with an output of 400,000 tons a year. Zone 4 on 8.33 hectares is for storage and development of facilities for lease.

Currently, MSN owns a brewery plant and a food industrial center also in Hau Giang province with a total investment of VND1,600 billion ($68.5 million).

Hau Giang is one of the 12 provinces in Mekong Delta, which also includes Can Tho, one of the country's five centrally-managed cities.

As one of the largest and most fertile deltas in Southeast Asia and the world, the delta is Vietnam’s biggest food, fisheries and fruit supplier. It holds 54% of the country’s rice output, 90% of rice exports, 70% of seafood output and 60% of fruit output.