Thanhniennews.com quoted Mr Dinh Huy Tam general secretary of Vietnam Steel Association as saying that sales of steel used in construction in Vietnam will rise about 28% YoY in 2009 from a year earlier.

He added that "Construction steel sales will grow in the coming months as the government plans to boost investment in construction projects to help achieve economic expansion of about 5.2% this year."

According to Mr Tam, sales of steel used as building materials, known as long products, rose by 23% YoY through the end of August 2009 from the same period a year earlier, to 2.7 million tonnes. He added that VSA expects sales of construction steel in 2010 to increase at least 12% as the government targets economic growth of 6.5%.

(Sourced from www.thanhniennews.com)