On June 25, representatives from Heineken Vietnam confirmed that the company is in the process of temporarily halting operations at its Heineken Quang Nam Brewery branch project in June 2024.
However, according to information we have obtained, Heineken Vietnam is planning to expand its Vung Tau brewery to a capacity of 1.6 billion liters per year, an increase of 500 million liters from the current capacity. The additional capacity for this brewery is double the capacity of the recently closed Quang Nam brewery.
This project is not solely for beer production but will also include 25 million liters of fermented fruit juice annually. Together with 1,525 million liters of beer, the total capacity of the project is 1.6 billion liters per year.
Heineken received the investment license for the expansion project of the Heineken Vietnam – Vung Tau brewery in June last year. All phases of this project have a total investment capital of VND 12,585 billion, equivalent to USD 540 million.
The project covers an area of 41.4 hectares in My Xuan A Industrial Park, My Xuan ward, Phu My town, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. The project’s operation duration is 45 years from May 14, 2007. As reported by Heineken, the project continues to be implemented within the existing area of the Heineken Vietnam – Vung Tau brewery, thus not affecting the land use planning of the industrial park or neighboring companies within the industrial zone.
Operational since late 2018, this brewery had an initial capacity of 110 million liters per year, which was later increased to 610 million liters per year and became operational in 2019. Subsequently, the brewery further increased its capacity to 1.1 billion liters per year and has been in operation since 2022. After the expansion in 2022, the Vung Tau brewery became the largest brewery in Southeast Asia.
For the capacity expansion, Heineken set a timeline to complete the legal procedures from June to October 2024. This will be followed by the construction of offices, factories, auxiliary systems, and rainwater and wastewater collection systems from November 2024 to January 2025; and the installation of production line equipment from February to March 2025.
Subsequently, the project will complete the relevant legal procedures and proceed with the trial operation of the production lines from April to July 2025, followed by commercial operation from October 2025.
In terms of labor, Heineken estimates that the current brewery (1.1 billion liters per year) employs 280 staff, and with the increased capacity, the number is expected to reach 300.
Regarding the reason for temporarily halting operations at the Heineken Quang Nam Brewery branch project in June 2024, Heineken Vietnam stated that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy in general, including the beer industry, has faced numerous challenges, leading to a decline in consumer confidence and demand. Additionally, the implementation of Decree 100/2019 on controlling alcohol concentration while participating in traffic has also led to changes in consumer behavior and the formation of new consumption habits.
The Vietnamese beer market witnessed a double-digit decline in 2023 and has continued to decrease by a single-digit percentage so far this year. “To adapt to the current situation and continue developing in a market that is undergoing and will undergo many changes in the future, we have decided to optimize our production and business activities” – said the representative of Heineken.
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