Province threatens to end slow projects

The People’s Committee of southern Hau Giang Province is urging the Hong Kong-invested Lee & Man Group to hasten implementation of its two paper and pulp production projects, worth a combined US$628 million.

Progress on both projects has so far failed to meet the requirements set by local authorities, the committee said in its latest letter sent to the company.

Earlier, the group had pledged to commence work on all phrases of the projects this year after a long delay occasioned by the global economic crisis. It also vowed to submit an implementation schedule to the committee immediately after receiving land use right certificates.

In response to the group’s petition, Hau Giang Province issued the land use right certificate in December to Lee & Man Paper Viet Nam Co, Lee & Man’s local affiliate, instructing the provincial industrial zone management board to co-operate with other departments to better facilitate the projects.

However, the investor to date has failed to kick off the project as scheduled and also yet to send the committee its plan to implement the projects this year.

People’s Committee vice chairman Nguyen Lien Khoa said the province had asked the group to respond to these issues no later than April 25.

“Until that time, if we have yet to receive a response, we will withdraw the investment licences of the projects,” Khoa said, adding, “The provincial authorities are willing to share difficulities with the investors. We will consider extending the dealine for investors to launch the projects if they have proper reasons for these delays.”

The slow-moving projects could affect the province’s ability to attract investment, as the land was no longer available for other investors with sufficient financial capacity, said the director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, Vo Ta Thang.

“We are determined to revoke the investment licences of investors with purposes like appropriating land or transferring it to other investors,” Khoa added.

“We are giving top priority to ensuring the effectiveness of domestic and foreign investment inflows,” he said.

In June 2007, Lee & Man Paper Viet Nam and Lee & Man Pulp Viet Nam were granted licences to develop two projects in Song Hau Industrial Zone in Chau Thanh District. Lee & Man Paper received approval to build a $280 million packaging paper plant with an annual capacity of 420,000 tonnes, while Lee & Man Paper Pulp got the green light to develop a paper pulp mill on a site of 70ha, at a cost of $348 million. — VNS

Tags: Lee & Man Group