More determined in recovering violating projects in Hai Duong

The Department of Planning and Investment of Hai Duong province has carried out procedures to terminate investment in 4 investment projects outside industrial parks in the province. Also in March 2024, after reviewing investment projects outside industrial parks, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment proposed that the province revoke the project of 1 enterprise and make a list of 5 projects of 4 other enterprises. This shows that the relevant functional departments of the province have been taking stronger actions to advise the province to handle projects that are slow to implement or violate legal regulations. However, public opinion believes that the province should be more determined to handle projects that do not ensure operating conditions, thereby contributing to avoiding land waste and creating a healthy investment and business environment.

According to the Department of Planning and Investment of Hai Duong, of the 4 projects that have ceased operations, 2 were terminated by the investors themselves. The remaining 2 projects were terminated due to the expiration of the project's operating period and failure to adjust the investment location according to regulations. In the list of 5 projects of 4 enterprises prepared by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, most of them still have vacant land without construction after a long time of land allocation; some projects still owe land rent and use land for the wrong purpose.

The most painful and notable project among the projects proposed to be terminated and have its land reclaimed is the project of Vinamit Joint Stock Company in Hai Duong City. The Provincial People's Committee leased 347,000m2 (approximately 34.7 hectares) of land in Ai Quoc and Nam Dong wards (Hai Duong City) to this company in 2008 to implement the project of a processing factory, a warehouse for preserving fruits and vegetables, and a model for introducing agricultural product production processes. The project is expected to promote the development of the province's fruit and vegetable processing industry and create jobs for many local workers. However, despite being extended many times by the province, over the past 16 years, nearly 35 hectares of "rice fields and honey fields" have been abandoned. This has made local people very upset, creating a bad image for the province's investment and business environment.

The above are only 10 projects proposed to be withdrawn and put on the warning list, but it shows that there are hundreds of thousands of square meters of land abandoned or used ineffectively or for the wrong purpose. In fact, the number of enterprises abandoning or using land for the wrong purpose is still high. This causes many bad consequences. Because when reclaiming agricultural land to hand over to business projects, many localities have to work very hard to compensate and clear the land. When reclaiming land to implement projects, localities convince people that when the project comes into operation, it will create jobs for local workers, promote socio-economic development, increase budget revenue... But after receiving the land handover, the enterprise leaves the land fallow, all the goals of the project are also lost.

After many years of monitoring the handling of projects that do not ensure operating conditions, violate legal regulations, and leave land fallow, the province has not been resolute in reclaiming land from these projects. The most typical example is the project of Vinamit Joint Stock Company, which has been extended several times by the province and has always added a clause that if the project does not ensure the time according to the set schedule or allows an extension, it will be reclaimed. But until now, this project is still abandoned right at the eastern gateway of Hai Duong City. Therefore, along with creating an open environment to attract businesses to invest and do business, promoting the socio-economic development of Hai Duong, the province needs to be more determined in reclaiming land from projects of businesses that do not comply with legal regulations.