Last month, the Prime Minister established a Steering Committee to resolve the shortcomings and weaknesses in the 12 loss-making projects, with Deputy PM Hue appointed as Head of the Committee and Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung appointed as Deputy Heads.

Officials reported on the overall outlook for the 12 projects, including their financial, technical and legal situations, and also provided solutions for each.  

Most of the projects have become inactive or never gone into operation. Some leaders have fled overseas to dodge their responsibility. 

“There must be a determined and quick settlement, and the government will no longer fund those projects,” Deputy PM Hue was quoted as saying.

Cooperation between inspection and auditing agencies together with polices will determine the responsibility of groups and individuals that caused the heavy losses and damaged the State assets.

The Deputy PM directed the Managing Committee of the Dinh Vu Polyester Fiber Plant and the Dung Quat Bio-Ethanol Plant to calculate the necessary spending against benefits to restart operations after being suspended for a long period.

MoIT will propose a plan and roadmap for each of the loss-making projects for the Steering Committee to report to the government and the Prime Minister in March. 

Besides, “ministries, sectors and related authorities will have to soon finalize settlement options, negating any further losses to the State,” Deputy PM Hue said.

The National Assembly (NA), in a resolution during its second session last November, named five projects that need to be reviewed, including the Dinh Vu Polyester Fiber Plant, with investment of VND7 trillion ($311 million) from the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group’s PetroVietnam Petrochemical and Textile Fiber Company, the VND2.2 trillion ($96 million) Dung Quat Bio-Ethanol Plant belonging to the PetroVietnam Central Biofuels JSC, Phase 2 of the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Corporation (TISCO)’s production expansion project with capital of VND8 trillion ($350 million), and the Phuong Nam Paper Mill and the Ninh Binh Fertilizer Plant.

Other projects under the spotlight are Ha Bac Fertilizer, DAP Fertilizer 1 Lao Cai, DAP Fertilizer 2 Hai Phong, Binh Phuoc Ethanol, Phu Tho Ethanol, Dung Quat Shipyard, and a joint venture between Quy Sa Mine and Lao Cai Cast Iron and Steel Plant. 

All have suffered because of bad investments and management decisions by project owners, who are enterprises, groups and corporations under MoIT.

Of the 12 projects, those that cannot be restructured will undergo divestment, auction, dissolution or bankruptcy, as prescribed by law.

VN Economic Times