In late April or early May, Venture International JSC from the Netherlands plans to start construction on a new factory in the central province of Nghe An.

The $10 million factory has a designed production capacity of 150,000-210,000 jackets and two million shirts a year and would provide jobs to about 1,000 workers.

Venture dropped anchor in Vietnam back in 2007 with a garment factory in Hai Duong province that similarly employed around 1,000.

The plant’s production line (protective clothing, fire-proof coats and specialised uniforms) are exported to Europe and generate tens of millions of dollars a year.

The company’s director John Somers attributed rising customer demands to Venture’s planned factory in Nghe An.

Venture is not the only company with big expansion plans. In Dong Nam Industrial Park in Ho Chi Minh City, two FDI projects with a combined investment of nearly $200 million are in the works.

The first project is from Worldon Vietnam Limited and is a $140 million garment plant with a planned output of 80 million items a year.

The plant’s first phase is slated for completion in June 2015.

The other project, invested by Sheico Vietnam Limited, will soon begin. It is a $50 million weaving and garment export project. Its first phase is expected to be completed by November this year.

Other potential projects have been reported by Nam Dinh, QuangBinh and Dong Nai provinces.

According to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas), now is an opportune time to push up garment and textile export as both the domestic and global markets are rebounding.

This was evidenced by numerous garment and textile firms having already scored orders for the third and fourth quarters.

Vitas, however, admitted that foreign invested garment and textile firms, though few in number, contribute up to 60 per cent of the sector’s total export value and their continuous expansion shows the widening gap between their development level and that of domestic enterprises.

Nguyen Van Thoi, chairman of TNG Investment and Trading JS, forecasted Vietnam’s textile and garment industry could achieve a growth rate of 30 per cent in 2014.

“The sector’s export value could jump to $26 billion this year, up $4 billion against last year. Many enterprises already have full orders for 2014,” Thoi added.