Although groundbreaking for a paper mill that was to be built in Thanh Hoa Province was in 2003, the site remains an empty lot.
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| Dozens of hectares used for grazing cows |
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| Walk path covered by sand and debris |
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| The would-be paper plant |
The site covers almost 6ha in Chau Loc Commune, Hau Loc District. Plans were to build a facility that could produce 50,000 tonnes of pulp and 60,000 tonnes of paper per year between 2006 and 2009, doubling in capacity by 2010. The project’s financial backer, Vietnam Paper Corporation (VPC), invested a total of VND6.4 trillion (USD306.4 million)
VPC set up a subsidiary in 2008, called Thanh Hoa Paper Joint Stock Company, to carry out the plans. In March of last year, the project was wholly transferred to the joint stock company. Their charter capital was also increased from VND200 billion (USD9.6 million) to VND966 billion (USD46.6 million).
No progress, still causing damage
Le Ba Tran, Chairman of Chau Loc Commune People’s Committee said, “We sent 50 or 60 people for training at Bai Bang Paper Company to work at Chau Loc Paper when it was built. But hundreds of locals remain unemployed.”
Resident Nguyen Thi Luu complained, “I, along with a lot of other people in this commune, took training courses at a paper company on the advice of the authorities here. We hoped for jobs at Chau Loc in the future. We finished our courses, but there’s still no plant. Now I sell gas to make ends meet."
The site itself is also causing problems. Piles of soil have filled up water drainage systems, affecting land used for agriculture in two villages. The water also backs up, causing flooding in homes and fields.
People’s Committee of Thanh Hoa Province has requested the company to resolve these issues or select another place to build the plant. The company has done nothing to speed up the project, however.
Mr. Ngoc, who lives in Chau Tu 2 Village, said that nearby homes by dust kicked up from the unused lot. “The dirt and rocks from that work site have already killed some of my trees.”
According to a report from the Hau Loc District People’s Committee, if the plant is built, the waste will pollute the Len River, a water source for Hau Loc, Nga Son and Ha Trung districts.
Le Ba Tran said that the government should take back the land and grant it to other projects.