Why is it difficult to handle?

Authorities in An Giang province stated that, as of now, there is no data related to the illegal land exploitation by An Giang Construction and Installation Joint Stock Company, except for the data provided by the company itself. Therefore, there is insufficient legal basis to take action.

Should state-owned enterprises receive preferential treatment?

On the morning of December 20th, Mr. Ngo Cong Thuc, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of An Giang province, along with leaders of the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, held a meeting with the press regarding the results of the review and inspection of illegal land exploitation for brick and tile production by An Giang Construction and Installation Joint Stock Company.

Leaders of the An Giang Provincial People's Committee worked and provided information to representatives of Giao Thong Newspaper (far left) and other media agencies regarding the inspection of illegal land exploitation by An Giang Construction and Installation Joint Stock Company.

Opening the meeting, Mr. Ngo Cong Thuc stated that, in the spirit of upholding the rule of law, the Standing Committee of the An Giang Provincial People's Committee had directed relevant agencies to review more than 40 public investment projects in the province regarding their compliance with the law. Among these were three clay mining projects that had not received approval from the Provincial People's Committee but had been illegally exploited by An Giang Construction and Installation Joint Stock Company for a long period.

According to the exploration results report in the three areas approved by the Provincial People's Committee under Decision No. 2791/QD-UBND dated December 1, 2020, the mining area in Tri Ton town, Tri Ton district has a reserve of 878,367 m3; Decision No. 2792/QD-UBND dated December 1, 2020, the mining area in An Phu town, An Phu district has a reserve of 513,281 m3; and Decision No. 2793/QD-UBND dated December 1, 2020, the mining area in Binh Duc ward, Long Xuyen city has a reserve of 434,681 m3.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Xuan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of An Giang Construction and Installation Joint Stock Company, said that the company has three brick and tile factories located in Long Xuyen City, Tri Ton District, and An Phu District. These include a mining area in Tri Ton town with an area of ​​9.82 hectares; a mining area in Binh Duc Ward, Long Xuyen City with 9.6 hectares; and a mining area in An Phu town, An Phu District with 9.32 hectares.

Mr. Ngo Cong Thuc, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of An Giang province, said that all businesses in An Giang must uphold the law, and that a comprehensive review of all issues concerning An Giang Construction and Installation Joint Stock Company will be conducted, with strict penalties imposed on any violations found.

According to Mr. Xuan, this land was purchased by the company from local farmers' rice paddies and has not yet been transferred to the company's name. Some plots of land have been transferred to representatives of the Tunnel Brick and Tile Factory. The remaining plots only have notarized contracts, and the company holds the original land use right certificates.

Mr. Vo Hung Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of An Giang province, said that the mining areas of An Giang Construction and Installation Joint Stock Company have been explored and assessed for clay reserves by the company. Afterward, the company submitted an application to the relevant provincial authorities requesting approval for the mining license.

"The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has requested the An Giang Provincial People's Committee not to approve the mining license yet because the land use plan and mineral mining plan are unclear. If the mineral mining area plan becomes clear and appropriate in the near future, we will propose granting a license to the enterprise," Mr. Dung said.

The clay mining area in Binh Duc ward, Long Xuyen city, An Giang province, covers an area of ​​9.6 hectares with an estimated reserve of 434,681 m3. Although it has not been licensed, An Giang Construction and Installation Joint Stock Company has been exploiting it for many years.

However, a representative from Giao Thong Newspaper asked whether, according to the plan approved by the An Giang Provincial People's Committee in 2021 regarding the use of raw materials for the production of construction materials, which stipulates that agricultural land should not be used for the production of fired bricks, the request for mining licenses in the three aforementioned areas by An Giang Construction and Installation Joint Stock Company is in accordance with regulations.

Reporters also raised several other questions regarding the compliance with legal regulations on project implementation by An Giang Construction Joint Stock Company; was it because it was a state-owned enterprise that it received preferential treatment, not having to follow the procedures stipulated by law, allowing the company to "act prematurely"?

However, none of these questions were answered by the authorities in An Giang province.

The matter will be handled in accordance with the rule of law.

Representatives from the Traffic Newspaper continued to question the state management responsibility of local authorities and relevant agencies for allowing illegal land exploitation to occur for a long period; and how the environmental impact assessment and remediation plans for these illegal land exploitation areas are being implemented.

And the current situation is that the mining area in Binh Duc ward, Long Xuyen city, has not been licensed but has already been exploited, resulting in the destruction of many large ponds and lakes right behind the Tunnel Long Xuyen Brick and Tile Factory.

Mr. Vo Hung Dung stated that, after the Provincial People's Committee directed the establishment of an inspection team, working with the An Phu District People's Committee revealed several issues that needed clarification. In particular, the data in the An Phu District People's Committee's report was provided unilaterally by An Giang Construction and Installation Joint Stock Company; no other unit had conducted the necessary measurements.

"Therefore, I have reported to the Provincial People's Committee that we should hire a consulting unit to conduct surveys of the exploited area to obtain data for comparison with the company's data. We need to survey all three areas – Tri Ton district, An Phu district, and Long Xuyen city – before we can come up with a plan for handling the situation and assigning responsibility. Currently, relying solely on the company's data is not enough to establish a legal basis for taking action," Mr. Dung explained.

Mr. Ngo Cong Thuc stated that the Department of Planning and Investment, the Department of Finance, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment are reviewing all legal procedures involved in implementing the policy and granting investment licenses.

"In accordance with the directive of the Standing Committee of the An Giang Provincial People's Committee, all businesses in the province must uphold the law, without exception. After reviewing and inspecting, any violations found will be dealt with accordingly," the Vice Chairman of the An Giang Provincial People's Committee affirmed.

An Giang Construction Joint Stock Company has a charter capital of VND 287,228 million, of which: state-owned capital is VND 271,372 million (accounting for 94.48% of charter capital); capital owned by other shareholders is VND 15,856 million (accounting for 5.52% of charter capital).

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/vu-khai-thac-dat-trai-phep-875000m3-dat-o-an-giang-vi-sao-kho-xu-ly-192241220141646454.htm