At the government’s regular press conference on May 4, Lieutenant General To An Xo, the spokesman of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), gave new information about the wrongdoings found related to Thuan An Group.

To date, MPS has taken legal proceedings against eight officials, including Duong Van Thai, former Bac Giang provincial Party Committee Secretary, for "abusing position and power while performing official duties". 

Prior to that, the investigation agency filed charges against seven internees related to the case, including Nguyen Duy Hung, Thuan An Group President, and Nguyen Khac Man, deputy CEO, for "violating regulations on bidding, causing serious consequences" and "bribing".

Also, Pham Thai Ha, deputy chief of the National Assembly Office and assistant to the National Assembly chair, was arrested on April 22 and accused of “abusing position and power to influence another person for personal gains” as per Clause 4, Article 358 of the 2015 Penal Code (amended in 2017).

The predecessor of Thuan An Group was Thuan An Construction Development and Trade JSC, which was established in August 2004 with modest charter capital of VND3.9 billion.

Thuan An specializes in investing and building technical infrastructure, buying/selling electricity and renewables, and developing real estate.

In 2011-2018, Thuan An Group kicked off its plan to scale up business three times by increasing charter capital. Its registered capital had reached VND300 billion by 2014, and to VND800 billion by 2021, or 200 times higher than initial capital.

In recent years, Thuan An has won construction and instruction bids, including big packages worth hundreds of billion of dong.

As an independent contractor or partner, Thuan An is executing a series of packages in many cities and provinces throughout the country.

From December 2014 to December 2023, Thuan An, either by itself or jointly with other enterprises, won 38 bidding packages in 16 cities/provinces with the total value of over VND23 trillion.

In 2022-2023 alone, the enterprise won bids worth VND18 trillion in total, including ones within the framework of the post-Covid socio-economic recovery program.

The group has emerged in recent years as a contractor of bridge development projects, including Rut Bridge on Ha Long – Bach Dang Highway; Cua Hoi - Extradosed cable-stayed Bridge crossing Lam River; and VinhTuy 2 Bridge-Gateway to Hanoi and RachMieu 2 Bridge.

In Bac Giang, the enterprise is executing Dong Viet Bridge project, the first and largest cable-stayed bridge in the province, which crosses Thuong River and links with Hai Duong province.

The bid winning price is VND1,132.7 billion. The joint names of Thuan An, Vietnam Investment Construction and Import-Export 168 and Trung Chinh Trade and Construction have been chosen to implement the project (Package No7).

The project will have total length of 8.59 kilometers and it is expected to be implemented within three years (2022-2025), funded by the provincial budget and local authority bonds.

On April 22, a representative of the Quang Ninh Transport Work Management Board stated that it has examined construction works conducted by Thuan An. The group was implementing projects valued VND1 trillion in the province.

Thuan An is teaming up with contractors to implementing bidding package No13, which is a riverfront road connecting the Ha Long – Hai Phong highway and Dong Trieu town (phase 1). The project execution is from 2021 to 2024.

In HCM City, Thuan An and other contracts are executing two key transport projects – Belt Road No3 and Nguyen Van Linh – Nguyen Huu Tho crossroads.

Regarding Belt Road No3, Thuan An and eight other contractors are implementing a contract worth VND2.3 trillion. As for the crossroads, Thuan An and two other contracts are implementing a contract worth VND262 billion.

In addition, Thuan An has joined forces with other contractors to execute XL05 and XL06 packages, a component project of the Tham Luong – Ben Cat canal environment improvement.

In Binh Duong, provincial authorities have instructed agencies to check the bidding package of Bac Tan Uyen – Phu Giao – Bau Bang road. This is a VND3.8 trillion project implemented by a joint venture comprising Thuan An and other private companies.

On April 16, the Quang Nam People’s Committee sent a dispatch to local agencies, requesting to provide information related to Thuan An. As Thuan An’s President has been arrested for violating regulations on bidding, the committee has requested relevant agencies to check the projects related to this group.

In mid-April, C03 of MPS requested Dak Lak People’s Committee to provide materials and information about Thuan An’s projects in the locality.

Hanh Nguyen