Founding anniversary celebrated with vision declaration ceremony; shipyard stands as Southeast Asia's largest

HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding marks its 30th founding anniversary at a ceremony held Thursday. [HD Hyundai Heavy Industries]
HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding marks its 30th founding anniversary at a ceremony held Thursday. [HD Hyundai Heavy Industries]

HD Hyundai announced Friday that HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding (HD HVS), its first overseas shipbuilding operation, has marked its 30th founding anniversary.

HD HVS held a ceremony Thursday at Ninh Hoa Square in Khanh Hoa Province, central Vietnam, drawing about 7,000 attendees including employees, partner company staff and local residents. The event featured a vision declaration ceremony, and the company donated 500 million Vietnamese dong ($19,300) to Khanh Hoa Province as a regional development fund.

Attendees included HD Hyundai Heavy Industries President Joo Won-ho, representatives of local partner companies, and Vietnamese government and agency officials — among them Lam Dong, deputy secretary and chairman of the Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Council, and Le To Muoi, director general of the Vietnam Maritime Administration.

At the vision declaration ceremony, the company unveiled a growth strategy to build 23 vessels per year by 2030 and to establish a production capacity of 30 vessels annually over the medium to long term.

HD HVS agreed with Vietnamese authorities in April to extend its production site lease by 20 years through 2066, and is pursuing dock and quay expansion along with production facility scale-up through a total investment of $100 million.

HD HVS was established in 1996 as a joint venture between HD Hyundai and the state-owned Shipbuilding Industry Corporation of Vietnam. Spanning about 1 million square meters, the facility operates two dry docks and a 1.5-kilometer quay, and has grown into Southeast Asia's largest shipyard and a key production hub for Vietnam's shipbuilding industry.

HD HVS currently accounts for about 70 percent of Vietnam's total ship orders and more than 80 percent of its vessel deliveries. Last year, the shipyard posted sales of $674.33 million — equivalent to about 8.2 percent of Khanh Hoa Province's gross regional domestic product — and supports more than 5,100 jobs, contributing to Vietnam's economy and local community development.

"HD Hyundai will continue to contribute to the development of Vietnam's shipbuilding and marine industry, while further strengthening economic cooperation and trust between the two countries," HD Hyundai Heavy Industries President Joo said.


keg@heraldcorp.com