120 delegates attend the Vietnam – Australia Construction Materials Export and Construction and Real Estate Cooperation Forum 2024

The forum attracted more than 120 delegates, including representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy, First Secretary in charge of Foreign Economic Relations; Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Australia; representatives of the New South Wales Business Association (Business NSW); Australia Vietnam Business Association (AVBC); Ho Chi Minh City Construction and Building Materials Association (SACA), Binh Duong Construction Association (BDCA); Ho Chi Minh City Handicraft and Wood Processing Association (HAWA); Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank, South Binh Duong Branch, experts, construction material manufacturing enterprises, construction and real estate development enterprises from Vietnam and Australia.

According to Mr. Grame Barty – International Trade Advisor of Business NSW, the housing demand of the whole of Australia is 1.2 million units, of which 320 thousand units are in NSW alone. This is a “golden opportunity” for Vietnamese construction material manufacturing enterprises to export to the Australian market.

In addition, the demand for development and housing market demand for Aboriginal people in Australia is also very large. Ms. Azalia Canuto Ahmat – Secretary of AVBC said that recently the Federal Government and the Northern Territory Government signed a $4 billion agreement to build 270 houses per year for the Aboriginal community in remote areas. These are all opportunities that Vietnamese construction enterprises can grasp and take advantage of in the coming time to reach out to the “big sea”.

Representing Vietnamese construction enterprises, Mr. Le Viet Hai – Chairman of SACA said that from a country that imported most of its materials, Vietnam has now produced construction materials that meet domestic construction needs and has a surplus of about 10% to 30% of its capacity for export. There are many factories serving up to 90% of the foreign market.

Currently, Vietnam’s construction materials industry has exported to over 140 countries and territories. Australia is a major market for Vietnamese cement, spending more than 23.4 million USD to import 470 thousand tons of clinker and cement from Vietnam, an increase of 135% in volume and 120% in value in 2023.

In addition, at the forum, Vietnamese construction material manufacturers introduced advanced construction material products and technologies, affirming their quality and competitiveness in the international market.

Representative of the Vietnamese Embassy, Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Mai – First Secretary in charge of Foreign Economic Relations, expressed her opinion on the support of the Vietnamese Government for enterprises wishing to export construction materials and construction labor to the Australian market. At the same time, Mr. Nguyen Phu Hoa – Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Australia also highly appreciated Vietnamese enterprises and committed to the support of the Trade Office for market research and export activities of Vietnamese enterprises in Australia.

At the forum, a signing ceremony took place between Viettel Construction Joint Stock Corporation and HBC Build Australia on the procurement of construction materials for Ramada Sky Hotel and a housing project for people over 50 years old in Warwick.

During the Q&A session, Vietnamese construction material manufacturers shared their experiences in exporting construction materials, effective market access strategies, helping Vietnamese enterprises improve their capacity, better prepare for the export process and directly consulted with Mr. Jonathan McCray – Materials Engineer, ARUP Company, about quality standards and import regulations of Australia.