TPO - Mr. Hoang Quoc Vuong (former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade ) was found guilty of creating a mechanism for solar power projects to enjoy preferential electricity prices, and was then 'given' 1.5 billion VND.
The Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Security Agency has just concluded the investigation into the case that occurred at the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and a number of related provinces and cities, and proposed to prosecute Mr. Hoang Quoc Vuong (former Chairman of EVN, former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade); Mr. Phuong Hoang Kim (former Director of the Electricity and Renewable Energy Department); Mr. Nguyen Danh Son (former Director of the Electricity Trading Company) and 9 other accomplices for the two crimes of "Abusing position and power while performing official duties" and "Lack of responsibility causing serious consequences".
Former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong caused a loss of 774 billion VND to the State in the Thuan Nam - Trung Nam Solar Power Plant project. |
Specifically, Mr. Vuong took advantage of his position and authority to agree on the proposal for the project to be approved for additional planning; at the same time, he "intentionally" requested a price mechanism of 9.35 UScents/kWh for the project beyond the scope allowed by the Prime Minister... Mr. Vuong's "intention" created conditions for the Trung Nam - Thuan Nam Solar Power Plant (in Thuan Nam district, Ninh Thuan province) to be eligible for preferential electricity prices.
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Former Deputy Minister Hoang Quoc Vuong admitted to receiving 1.5 billion VND. |
Although the Prime Minister later directed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to strictly follow the resolution, Mr. Vuong "ignored" it, leading to a loss of 774 billion VND for EVN. When investigated, the former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade confessed to receiving 1.5 billion VND from Trung Nam Construction Investment Joint Stock Company.
The conclusion of the Government Inspectorate on Power Plan 7 and Power Plan 7 adjustment issued in December 2023 clearly showed: For the Trung Nam Thuan Bac Solar Power Plant project and the Trung Nam Thuan Nam project, the assessment of the financial capacity of investors of these two projects has not been implemented in accordance with the provisions of Point d, Clause 1, Article 33 of the 2014 Investment Law.
The investor did not ensure financial capacity as prescribed in Point a, Clause 3, Article 58 of the 2013 Land Law, Point c, Clause 1 and Point a, Point b, Clause 2, Article 14 of Decree No. 43 dated May 15, 2014. In addition to the investor's responsibility, the Government Inspectorate believes that there is also responsibility of the People's Committee of Ninh Thuan province and relevant advisory agencies under the People's Committee of the province.
Recently, the investor of the Trung Nam - Thuan Nam Solar Power Plant project, Trung Nam - Thuan Nam Solar Power Company Limited (under Trung Nam Group), has sent a petition to the Government leaders regarding the 172 MW capacity being stopped by Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) from September 2022 on the grounds that it does not meet the regulations on enjoying FIT (fixed electricity price). Because of the 172 MW, 86 MW on the land area (about 108 hectares) was implemented by the investor in violation of the law, meaning the land has not been approved, the environmental impact has not been assessed, and fire prevention and fighting has not been accepted.
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| According to EVN, when the Trung Nam - Thuan Nam Solar Power Plant project was not legally complete and had not been granted an electricity operation license, it was correct that they only recorded the output but could not make payment. |
Trung Nam Group admitted that the problem is that the project is built in three communes of Phuoc Minh, Nhi Ha and Phuoc Ninh (Thuan Nam district), but the electricity operation license only shows Phuoc Minh commune. From October 2023 to now, EVN has only paid a part of the electricity generation revenue corresponding to the area of the plant in Phuoc Minh commune and the total unpaid value corresponding to the remaining area is about 274.2 billion VND.
However, EVN representative said that recently, the group has mobilized the capacity of the solar power plant to the grid and paid for the output and capacity according to Trung Nam's license. At the same time, they recorded the output of the excess capacity until there are specific regulations. "For the part that meets legal regulations, EVN has paid in full. For the transitional part, EVN is also paying according to the temporary price frame for transitional renewable energy projects approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade," EVN representative affirmed.
Source: https://tienphong.vn/can-canh-du-an-dien-mat-troi-duoc-cuu-thu-truong-bo-cong-thuong-tao-co-che-uu-dai-post1673576.tpo
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