Vietnam: Thua Thien-Hue province to start garment hub

In just four years, the Thua Thien-Hue province in central Vietnam plans to transform itself into a textile and garment hub, spending the equivalent of 295 million US dollars to do so. According to Viet Nam News, the new centre would cover 400 hectares in the Phong Dien Industrial Zone.

"In order to develop the sector sustainably and ensure enough supply of materials for production, the province has cooperated with the centre’s coordinating board of key economic zones to build a centre for supplying apparel materials," said Nguyen Van Cao, chairman of the province's people's committee.

According to Cao, many textile and garment companies located in the zone have "expressed their willingness to expand their factories". To create a closed production chain and to protect the environment, the province is also conducting research on modern wastewater treatment.

Currently, local textile and garment companies are dependent on foreign partners for materials , thus losing their competitiveness and the sector’s efficiency. That’s why in the near future, companies will be urged to transfer their production from a processing model to original design manufacturing (ODM) or original brand manufacturing (OMB), confirmed Cao.

As part of the development plan for 2016-2020, the province will also focus on developing the domestic market and on expanding its export markets, with the latter being the driving force. In addition, it is planned to boost research, product design, brand-building and promotion. Developing a professional fashion industry to change the rural labour structure will be key to achieving this goal.

Thua Thien-Hue province boasts of 128 km of coastline and is home to six industrial zones with 50 textiles and garment enterprises. More than 1,12 million people live in this province, which also houses the fourth largest domestic airport in Vietnam, having just received approval for upgrade to international airport.

Photo: Mot canh o Lang Co in Thua Thien Hue by Bui Thuy Dao Nguyen via Wikipedia