Vietnamese technology and telecom company Viettel has started construction of Vietnam’s first semiconductor fabrication facility, with trial production set for late 2027.

Viettel’s January 16, 2026, groundbreaking ceremony held at the Hoa Lac High-Tech Park in Hanoi was attended by top members of the country’s leadership, among them, Communist party general secretary To Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, a clear signal that chipmaking has become a matter of national priority.

This landmark project is a centrepiece of the government's “Make in Vietnam” strategy, a movement designed to transition the Southeast Asian nation from a global assembler into a powerhouse of original innovation. By building its first domestic chip factory, Vietnam is aiming for the hardest feat in modern industry: mastering core technologies to sustainably power its digital economy.

Viettel, it says in a statement, plans to fine-tune processes and upgrade equipment at the 27-hectare plant through 2030. More than just a construction project, the event is seen as the birth of Vietnam’s technological sovereignty, securing its place in the global supply chain for 5G, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.

For years, Vietnam has been known as an assembly line for foreign tech giants. While major chipmakers like Intel and Samsung have long operated in the country, they have primarily used Vietnam as the “hands” of the tech world – focusing on testing and packaging chips designed elsewhere. This new era, dubbed the “Silicon Sunrise”, is different because it is driven by domestic capital, local expertise and the goal of mastering the entire chip lifecycle.

The Viettel factory is described by Tao Duc Thang, the company’s chairman and CEO, as a  “nucleus” intended to “close the loop” of production in Vietnam. The facility will provide the critical infrastructure allowing domestic designers to move their work from a computer screen to a physical product.

This vision aligns with Vietnam’s national semiconductor strategy, which aims to establish 100 chip design enterprises and train 50,000 engineers by 2030. With these ambitious targets, Vietnamese universities, the company adds, have become “war rooms” for talent, preparing a pioneer cohort of engineers to ensure the factory meets world-class standards from day one.