The General Department of Environment looks set to inspect the paper mill of Lee&Man Vietnam Paper Co Ltd in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang from July 1.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha has told the department to work with relevant agencies over plans for inspections into the paper company and other enterprises in the province in terms of compliance with environment regulations.

Inspectors of the agency will look into the paper project licensing process, the environmental impact assessment report, waste water treatment technology, the firm’s compliance with construction rules and its application of environmental standards. They will also check the company’s automatic monitoring system and solutions to cope with environmental incidents.

The paper project of Lee&Man Vietnam under Lee&Man Paper Hong Kong has a total investment of US$1.2 billion. The project in Phu Huu A Commune in Chau Thanh District got off the ground in August 2007 but was later suspended before work resumed in 2014.

The project has an annual capacity of 420,000 tons and is scheduled to be commissioned later this year after a test run in mid-July.

Earlier, the province’s vice chairman Trinh Xuan Thanh said the paper project was appraised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the province approved its environmental impact assessment report in line with regulations on the environment.

According to the province, the paper mill has a wastewater treatment system that meets A-level standards specified in regulations on industrial wastewater. Facilities that meet such standards can discharge water directly into the environment.

However, Le Anh Tuan, deputy director of the Institute for Climate Change Research at Can Tho University, told the Daily that when the investor of the mill does not publicize details about the process and technology of treating wastewater, relevant agencies cannot conclude that its wastewater treatment plant meets environmental requirements.