HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Hong Kong-based paper manufacturer Lee & Man has begun construction work on a US$1.2 billion (euro870 million) paper mill project in southern Vietnam, a government official said Tuesday.
The project includes a US$630 million (euro456 million) investment to build two factories to produce containerboard and pulp, said Nguyen Thanh Nhon, director of the planning and investment department for Hau Giang province. Completion of the plants is scheduled for late 2008, he said.
Another part of the project will be to invest in growing trees in the Mekong Delta to supply the factories, Nguyen said.
''This is the biggest foreign-invested project in our province so far,'' he said.
The two factories are expected to produce 1.5 million tons of containerboard and one million tons of pulp, and the Hong Kong company plans to employ over 4,000 workers, Nguyen said.
Hau Giang is 207 kilometers (130 miles) southwest of Ho Chi Minh City.
