The world’s largest aluminium producer Rusal and its Vietnamese partner have agreed to build a $1 billion railroad for transporting bauxite to Vietnam’s seaports.
The railroad is planned to be 180 kilometres long and would run from Binh Phuoc province to Ba Ria-Vung Tau in the south of the country. An Vien Group (AVG) has committed to supplying 50 per cent of the financing with Rusal providing the other half.
The Russian side said it hopes its Vietnamese partner will be able to submit a related document to the Vietnamese government within the next two or three weeks.
Vietnam Railways, AVG and Rusal previously signed an agreement to co-operate on prefeasibility research for the railroad.
As of now, AVG and Rusal are nearly done with the research and will soon submit a report to the Ministry of Transport and the government.
Vietnam’s bauxite reserves were estimated at 5.6 billion tonnes by the Vietnam National Coal – Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin) in 2011. Firms from many countries have invested in bauxite mining and aluminium production in Vietnam.
Rusal, which made up 8 per cent of the world’s total aluminium output in 2013, posted pre-tax losses of $3.2 billion in 2013, compared to a pre-tax loss of $502 million in 2012. Its revenues came to $9.76 billion last year, down 11.6 per cent on-year.
Source: <link http: vir.com.vn>vir.com.vn
