HANOI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam inaugurated its largest factory to produce steel from iron ore in northern Lao Cai province, some 250 km northwest of capital Hanoi on Sunday.

Lao Cai Cast Iron and Steel Plant, a joint venture between Vietnam Steel Corporation, Lao Cai Mineral Joint Stock Company and China's Kunming Iron and Steel Group Co. Ltd, was put into operation after three years of construction.

The plant has an initial capacity of 500,000 tons of steel per year, reported the website of Vietnamese government on Sunday.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the plant is a project of friendship cooperation between Vietnamese and Chinese firms.

Lao Cai Cast Iron and Steel Plant will contribute to meeting the demand for steel of domestic market, and is expected to generate jobs for more than 1,000 local residents, Dung said.

• [Editor:Phillip.Feng]