The milestone follows the signing of an MoU between Duc Giang and provincial authorities last Sunday, allowing the company to conduct surveys and feasibility studies for the project.

According to the company’s plan, the project aims to build a closed-loop value chain processing raw bauxite into finished aluminum ingots.

It will comprise two key components: a bauxite-alumina cluster in Tuy Duc commune, the former Lam Dong province, and an aluminum electrolysis plant in the former Binh Thuan province.

The Lam Dong complex will be designed to extract 14.4 million tons of raw bauxite per year and refine it through three processing plants into 5.8 million tons of refined ore. The output will then be transported to Binh Thuan for smelting into aluminum, leveraging the province’s stable power supply from both thermal and renewable sources.

Dak Nong, Binh Thuan and Lam Dong were recently merged to form the new Lam Dong province which borders Dak Lak, Dong Nai and Khanh Hoa provinces, Ho Chi Minh City, Cambodia, and the East Sea.

Once operational, the whole complex is expected to produce two million tons of alumina and 500,000 tons of aluminum annually, generating about VND37 trillion ($1.4 billion) in revenue and contributing VND4.8 trillion ($182 million) to local budgets each year.

The project is slated for implementation between 2025 and 2030. Financing will be sourced from both internal funds and bank loans.

Chairman Dao Huu Huyen said the company is fully capable of funding the initial $1 billion investment. Duc Giang currently holds nearly VND10 trillion ($379.4 million) in cash and has secured a VND14.5 trillion ($550.2 milion) credit package from Vietcombank (HoSE: VCB).

The project aligns with Vietnam’s 2021-2030 mineral development strategy, which prioritizes deep processing of bauxite and selects investors with strong technical and financial capacity.

DGC shares ended up 0.31% to VND96,200 ($3.65) each on Tuesday.