Editor's note: These are all projects that have dragged on for many years, are unfinished/only partially completed, and show signs of serious waste. |
The Hoi Xuan hydroelectric project, located in Phu Xuan commune, Quan Hoa district, Thanh Hoa province, has a total investment of over 3,320 billion VND and construction began in March 2010. The project is invested by Hoi Xuan VNECO Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company.
According to the design, the Hoi Xuan hydropower plant has a capacity of 102 MW, making it a large hydropower project included in the national power development plan. The project consists of three generating units, with an average annual electricity output of over 432 million kWh.
According to the plan, the Hoi Xuan hydropower plant will dam the river for the first time around October 2012, dam the river for the second time at the end of 2013, and begin filling the reservoir and generating electricity from the first turbine in September of the same year, starting in mid-2014.
Initially, the project was carried out vigorously by the investor, and the work progressed rapidly. However, the project was halted at the end of 2014.
Shortly thereafter, Dong Mekong Service - Trade - Production - Construction Co., Ltd. acquired the shares and became the main shareholder of Hoi Xuan Power Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company, holding a controlling 91% stake.
To secure funding to continue the project, the investor secured a $125 million commercial loan from Goldman Sachs (USA) with a government guarantee. Thanks to this, construction resumed in 2017. By the end of 2019, the hydropower plant had reached 93% completion. At this point, the investor also began to halt the project.
According to the leaders of Quan Hoa district, the Hoi Xuan hydropower project has been halted since the beginning of 2019. In 2024, the investor brought in machinery and workers to resume construction, but only on a small scale for a short period before stopping again until now.
According to the district leader, the hydropower project was initially expected to make a significant contribution to the local development. However, the project was halted, leading to many negative consequences and significantly impacting the lives of people in the area affected by the hydropower reservoir.
Specifically, the reservoir area of the Hoi Xuan hydropower project has more than 655 hectares of land affected, located in Mai Chau district (Hoa Binh province) and Quan Hoa district (Thanh Hoa province). Nearly 1,900 households in these two localities are affected, of which about 500 households have to be relocated to new residences.
Currently, the project is facing outstanding issues related to land compensation and resettlement. The construction unit has not yet restored some flood-avoidance routes; many roads remain unfinished; and the estimated cost of constructing public facilities such as schools and health centers has not yet been paid, amounting to tens of billions of VND.
Given this situation, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province has repeatedly proposed that ministries and agencies promptly find solutions to resolve the issues so that the project can restart and people can stabilize their lives and production.
"In the short term, we hope that all levels of government will use budget funds to support the construction of public works for the people. In the long term, we request that Hoi Xuan Power Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company focus on arranging capital to continue implementing the project and bring it into operation, in order to stabilize people's lives, contribute to ensuring energy security, and promote economic development," the district leader said.
Banks are facing capital constraints at the Hoi Xuan hydropower project.
A report by the National Steering Committee on Power Development in March 2023 also cited this project as a prime example of delayed progress. At that time, the main construction items had reached approximately over 98% completion. Hoi Xuan Power Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company (VNECO) resumed construction in November 2022, including the completion of the plant's architecture and the construction of a bridge over the spillway.
The project developer then committed to completing and operating the plant by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
However, in a subsequent document, the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that it had received three reports from VNECO Hoi Xuan. Nevertheless, the company had only presented a plan for supplementing funding to continue implementing the remaining work of the project.
According to VietNamNet 's investigation, Agribank currently has nearly 700 billion VND (including principal and interest) tied up in the Hoi Xuan hydropower project and has taken steps to auction off this debt.
Specifically, on October 16, 2024, Agribank Branch 8 announced the selection of an auction organization to sell debt number 913 of Hoi Xuan VNECO Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company under credit agreement number 1702-LAV-201500270 dated April 8, 2015.
The total outstanding debt as of September 26, 2024, was over 689 billion VND, including 436.2 billion VND in principal and over 252.7 billion VND in accrued interest. This debt was put up for auction by Agribank with a starting price of over 706 billion VND.
The collateral for the debt consists of six mortgaged assets. Notably, these include over 31.2 million shares held by existing shareholders, including Dong Mekong Construction and Trading Service Company Limited, Vietnam Electricity Construction Corporation, and several other shareholders. These shares were mortgaged under a contract dated April 9, 2015, with a total value of over VND 312 billion, securing a debt of over VND 234 billion, and were registered as collateral at the Transaction and Asset Registration Center in Ho Chi Minh City on April 13, 2015.
In addition, the collateral also includes the value of the unfinished basic construction work of the Hoi Xuan hydropower project at various points in time.
Specifically, the construction work completed and accepted up to April 7, 2015, had a total collateral value of VND 107 billion, securing a debt of VND 80.25 billion.
The volume of construction work completed and accepted up to August 3, 2015, has a collateral value of VND 90 billion, securing an outstanding debt of VND 67.5 billion.
Similarly, the construction work completed and accepted on September 17, 2015, October 31, 2015, and November 30, 2015, had total collateral values of VND 49 billion, VND 71 billion, and VND 15 billion respectively, securing corresponding outstanding debts of VND 36.75 billion, VND 53.25 billion, and VND 11.25 billion.
These properties were all registered as mortgages at the Property Registration Center in Ho Chi Minh City at the time the contract was signed.
The fact that Agribank Branch 8 is selling this debt reflects the prolonged deadlock of the Hoi Xuan hydropower project, which was started in 2010 but remains unfinished to this day.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/thuy-dien-hoi-xuan-vao-dien-ban-chi-dao-tu-theo-doi-chua-ro-ngay-hoi-xuan-2384686.html
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