Deputies at a National Assembly (NA) meeting on July 25 said the process of granting investment licenses to foreign-invested projects should be reviewed to fix loopholes.

NA deputy Truong Trong Nghia from HCMC said besides the serious pollution caused by harmful industrial waste from the Formosa steel complex in Ha Tinh Province, there are problems relating to many other foreign-invested projects. Therefore, he proposed checking regulations on issuance of investment certificates to such projects.     

Nghia said Formosa Ha Tinh intentionally violated regulations on environmental protection and that there are loopholes in the approval process for the firm. 

He asked the NA to keep a close eye on the implementation of regulations on approval of investment projects and on environmental protection. 

He said the Government and the NA have clarified responsibilities of ministries and agencies involved in the Formosa incident.

Nghia said apart from Vo Kim Cu, other NA deputies from Ha Tinh Province, relevant agencies and NA committees should speak out on the incident. 

NA deputy Duong Trung Quoc from Dong Nai Province said this is a wake-up call for the country. The NA should review the procedure of awarding a 70-year investment certificate for Formosa Ha Tinh, he proposed.

In an interview with the local news site VnExpress over the weekend, Cu acknowledged he was partially responsible for serious pollution of the marine environment on the central coast caused by Formosa Ha Tinh’s waste.

Quoc said that Cu’s words should be evaluated as well to make clear responsibilities of relevant individuals and organizations. Those committing wrongdoing should be sanctioned since there are many pollution-causing production facilities in the country. 

Quoc proposed establishing an appropriate mechanism to enable residents to monitor enterprises’ compliance with environmental protection regulations.  

Regarding Cu’s answers about the granting of a 70-year investment certificate to Formosa Ha Tinh, a leader of the Government Inspectorate was cited by Dan Tri newspaper as saying that the former Party chief and chairman of Ha Tinh Province provided inaccurate information.

According to investigation results that came out in July 2014, the provincial authority infringed regulations by issuing that certificate to Formosa. However, Cu said the province complied with regulations and followed the FDI approval procedure.

The Government permitted Formosa Ha Tinh to move on with the steel complex to support its operation after inspection results had been released. However, Cu said the enterprise had got the Government’s approval for a 70-year land lease before the project was approved.   

Until now, the Government Inspectorate has yet to check the implementation of its inspection results by the province.