With investment capital ranging from approximately trillions to many trillions of VND, key direct investment projects are expected to create a breakthrough in economic growth, product and service structure and budget revenue, helping Thanh Hoa soon achieve its planned development goals. However, due to many objective and subjective reasons, many large-scale projects are currently behind schedule, failing to promote land use value and production and business efficiency.
A series of projects did not finish on time!
Tan Dan Eco-tourism Area Project (Nghi Son Town) invested by T&T Group has a scale of 84.8 hectares, with a total initial investment of about 3,663 billion VND, starting construction in June 2021. With a large scale and a prestigious investor, the project is expected to "transform" the advantages of forests and seas in Nghi Son into a resort and entertainment destination for domestic people, international tourists and foreign experts living and working in Nghi Son Economic Zone (KKTNS). At the time of groundbreaking, the investor set a goal of putting the project into operation in May 2024. However, currently, the project has only completed 40% of the volume. In August 2024, the Provincial People's Committee decided to approve the adjustment of the investment policy of this project with an increase in capital to VND 11,096 billion, and at the same time "delay" the progress of putting it into operation until 2026.
Also in the NSZ, the Nghi Son Steel Rolling Mill Project No. 2 (lines 3 and 4) was started by VAS Nghi Son Group Joint Stock Company in January 2022. With a capacity of 3 million tons/year and a total investment of nearly VND 8,000 billion, the project uses the most modern Italian DANIELI steel technology in Europe, aiming to bring to the market 3 million tons of steel billets and 1.5 million tons of rolled steel each year. Thereby, it will help increase the province's budget revenue by hundreds of billions of VND, contributing to affirming the Nghi Son steel brand as well as synchronously operating the Nghi Son Iron and Steel Complex. However, the goal of putting the first line of the factory into operation in 2023 was not achieved on time.
According to the review of the Department of Planning and Investment, 23 large-scale, key direct investment projects currently under review have a total investment of about 74,208 billion VND. Of which, 7 projects started construction before 2021, with a total investment of 25,681 billion VND and 16 projects started construction in the 2021-2024 period with a total investment of 48,527 billion VND. However, only 1 project has been put into operation in November 2023, which is the DABACO Thanh Hoa high-tech breeding and commercial pig breeding area in Thach Tuong and Thach Lam communes, Thach Thanh district, invested by DABACO Vietnam Group Joint Stock Company with a budget of 654 billion VND.
Of the 22 projects under construction, only 6 projects are on schedule. Of which, Dai Duong Cement Factory in the NSZ and Radial Tire Factory in Zone B, Bim Son Industrial Park (IP) are currently running a trial run to calibrate machinery for official operation. Miza Nghi Son Packaging Paper Factory - Phase 2 has been handed over land and is completing documents and procedures to start the project. The textile factory in Thai Thang Industrial Cluster (Hoang Hoa) has basically completed the construction of factory buildings; the export footwear processing factory in Van Ha Industrial Cluster (Thieu Hoa) has completed the construction of 2 factories, the remaining 2 factories are under construction with an estimated value of 90% of the total volume. Sao Mai Thanh Hoa Resort in Tho Lam Commune (Tho Xuan) is under construction with an estimated value of 83% of the total volume.
16 other large-scale, key projects are assessed to be behind schedule compared to the decision approving the investment policy and investment registration certificate. Among them are many projects that had high expectations in the fields of industry, agriculture, trade, tourism, and services such as: Intco Medical Vietnam Factory in North Zone A, Bim Son Industrial Park (Bim Son town) with an investment capital of 2,796 billion VND; Hot mineral resort urban area in Quang Yen commune (Quang Xuong) with a capital of 6,849 billion VND; Xuan Thien Thanh Hoa 1 high-tech production and livestock complex in Minh Tien commune (Ngoc Lac) with a capital of 3,000 billion VND; Long Son general port with a capital of 2,300 billion VND; Dairy farming and concentrated milk processing project on an industrial scale in Nong Cong district and Nhu Thanh district with a capital of 3,800 billion VND...
Speaking at the recent 37th Provincial Party Committee Conference, along with suggestions for effective solutions to promote the attraction of business resources for production and business, many delegates were concerned about the slow progress of many projects. Although the province's budget revenue in 2024 reached its highest level ever, the revenue source still depends mainly on value added tax from crude oil imports and land use fees. If new projects are slow to put into operation, it will be difficult to create more room to consolidate sustainable growth of the budget in the coming time.
“Many large investment projects that have been approved for investment have been slow to start construction or have been behind schedule. Especially in the field of trade and tourism, although some projects from reputable investors have been attracted, most of the projects have not been put into operation on schedule. Therefore, Thanh Hoa has not yet formed a high-quality tourism infrastructure to attract luxury guests, stimulate tourism demand and create a breakthrough in revenue,” said Secretary of the Sam Son City Party Committee Luong Tat Thang.
Many reasons
Among the many reasons for the slow progress of projects, site clearance is still one of the top reasons mentioned. Of the 16/23 large-scale, key projects that are currently "listed" as slow, 11 projects are due to difficulties and obstacles in site clearance. Typically, the chain of 4 Long Son cement factories in Dong Son ward (Bim Son town) still has 3 hectares of land that has not been cleared due to not reaching an agreement with local households; Tan Dan eco-tourism area in Tan Dan ward (Nghi Son town) still has 7.28 hectares of land that has not been cleared; Xuan Thien Thanh Hoa 1 high-tech production and breeding complex in Minh Tien commune (Ngoc Lac) still has 17 hectares of land that has not been cleared; The East North-South Highway urban area (Thanh Hoa city) is facing difficulties due to more than 1 hectare of land that has not been recovered...
According to the Nghi Son Town Land Acquisition and Resettlement Support Board, right from the beginning of implementation, Tan Dan Eco-tourism Area has encountered some difficulties due to problems with the origin, time of land use, land type... Some agricultural land areas have been issued a decision to reclaim land by the Town People's Committee but are not eligible for compensation and support, because the cadastral map is currently measuring traffic land, irrigation land, cemetery land, and abandoned water surface. Along with that, some households do not agree with the compensation price for land and assets on land and request the investor to negotiate... Currently, the adjustment of legal documents on land when the 2024 Land Law and decrees come into effect is also causing confusion for investors when implementing the next steps of the project.
According to the synthesis of the Department of Planning and Investment, regarding the cause of land acquisition and clearance, the situation of determining the origin of land is facing many difficulties due to the lack of documents and evidence, causing difficulties in developing a land acquisition and clearance plan, which is a difficult reality that is happening. Along with that, the slow investment in the construction of some resettlement areas also affects the progress of land acquisition and clearance of the project; the coordination between related units, the time to process records in compensation and clearance work is sometimes not timely and effective; most of the investment and business projects in the province use agricultural land, investors must carry out compensation and clearance through the form of self-negotiation to receive the transfer of land use rights, receive capital contributions or lease land use rights with land users, so land acquisition and clearance is facing many difficulties, leading to investors being slow to complete land use records.
Along with site clearance, the slow progress of some projects is also due to the lengthy completion of documents and procedures due to many overlapping and frequently changing legal regulations, such as the laws on investment, land, construction, environmental protection, housing and real estate business, bidding, management, use of public assets, and management of State capital. Some large-scale, key projects have procedures and documents that must be submitted to central ministries and branches, leading to prolonged implementation time, typically: Long Son General Port; Container Terminal 2 in the NSK; waste incineration plant for power generation in Dong Son ward (Bim Son town); Intco Medical Vietnam factory in North Zone A, Bim Son Industrial Park; dairy farming and concentrated milk processing on an industrial scale in Nong Cong and Nhu Thanh districts. Some projects are still waiting for implementation instructions such as: Nam Song Ma resort and amusement park in Quang Chau and Quang Tien wards (Sam Son) is a counterpart project of the investment project in the form of public-private partnership (BT contract) so it must be implemented according to the principle of parity. However, currently, the determination of the expected land price at the time of land allocation and land lease as a basis for continuing to allocate land to pay for BT projects still has many problems, leading to the inability to continue to allocate land for project investment and construction...
There are also projects where the delay is due to the lack of timely infrastructure to serve the project. For example, Nghi Son Steel Mill No. 2, the investor completed the installation of equipment in early August 2022, ready for trial operation. However, the 220KV power line and transformer station project invested by the National Power Transmission Corporation and the 110KV power line project supplying electricity to the 110KV metallurgical transformer station 2 are slow to complete, leading to no electricity to serve the operation of phase 1 of the project. Therefore, the investor also adjusted the installation time of line 4 to match the energization progress and the time to put the lines into commercial production in turn.
Mr. Pham Tuan Anh - representative of VAS Nghi Son Group Joint Stock Company, shared: “At the end of October, after the difficulties in site clearance were resolved, the National Power Transmission Corporation quickly organized the construction and energized the 220KV KKTNS transformer station and the connecting line. We are waiting for the electricity industry to complete the technical stages and connect electricity to the factory to operate line 3 in December 2024. After stable trial operation and necessary adjustments, we will put the factory into commercial operation in the first quarter of 2025. When line 3 is operating stably, the company will continue to invest in the construction of line 4”.
In addition to objective causes, it is impossible not to mention subjective causes when some investors are not responsible or lack capacity, leading to project delays. That is the hot mineral resort urban area in Quang Yen commune (Quang Xuong) which is behind schedule, only 20% of the construction volume has been completed and there is still a large amount of work related to site clearance. Currently, the investor has not been able to arrange capital to advance compensation and support to pay site clearance costs for households, which has greatly affected site clearance work at the project. Projects: East of Bac Nam Avenue Urban Area (Thanh Hoa City); waste incineration plant for power generation in Dong Son ward (Bim Son town) are also in a similar situation. In particular, there are projects with mixed causes that make it difficult to complete, even after being adjusted and extended.
In the field of direct investment, Thanh Hoa currently has 173 valid foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, with a total registered investment capital of about 14.96 billion USD, ranking 8th in the country. Domestic direct investment (DDI) has also flourished in recent years with projects from nationally renowned investors. However, the progress of investment projects has not been guaranteed, causing some of the province's expected goals to be missed and somewhat affecting the confidence and investment environment for businesses. Along with measures to intervene, remove difficulties and shortcomings in mechanisms and policies, introducing tough measures when dealing with investors who do not proactively implement projects, as well as selectively attracting quality investors, are the solutions that Thanh Hoa province is aiming for to welcome reputable capital flows into investment and business activities.
Article and photos: Minh Hang
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/du-an-trong-diem-vi-sao-cham-tien-do-232958.htm
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