LookAtVietnam – Capital shortages, difficulties in finding new locations and a lack of initiative by enterprises are some of the reasons behind the incomplete implementation of the city’s plan to relocate polluting companies and production facilities.

Anh Son cement Factory fills the air in central Nghe An Province with smoke.

However, only 17 polluters have been moved so far, although all were scheduled to relocate by 2007, according to deputy director of the city’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Dang Binh.

The Ha Noi Alcohol and Wine Joint Stock Company, the Sunggei Way Construction Materials Joint Venture and the Ha Noi Maternity Hospital are among the eight facilities still slated to be relocated.

Director of the Ha Noi Alcohol and Wine Joint Stock Company Ho Van Hai said that the company had planned to move to the Yen Phong Industrial Zone in northern Bac Ninh Province in 2005.

However, to date only 65 per cent of the move had been implemented due to financial difficulties and obstacles in the removal procedures, he said.

The removal project was approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade with total cost of VND755 billion (US$43 million). VND270 billion ($15.8 million) was to be financed by the city and VND350 billion ($20.5 million) was to be borrowed from banks for completion by 2007.

“However, when we received the funds, the tax authorities asked us to pay 20 per cent tax on the extra income,” Hai said.

He asked the city’s People’s Committee to petition the Government not to impose tax on capital support. Hai expects the removal to be completed by this year’s fourth quarter.

Deputy general director of the Ha Dong-based Sunggei Way Construction Materials Joint Venture Nguyen Tien Ngoc said that the company had registered to lease land in the Bich Hoa industrial complex in Thanh Oai District of former Ha Tay Province (now part of expanded Ha Noi) as part of its relocation strategy in 2005.

However, roads to the complex were unable to take the weight of the company’s specialised transport vehicles.

In 2007, after the Ha Tay province’s People’s Committee approved construction of the Dong Mai industrial zone project, the company registered for a land lease but have not made any moves to relocate because Dong Mai project investors have not provided them with the land.

Ngoc suggested that the city’s People’s Committee should ask the industrial zone management board to transfer the land soon so that the company could begin the relocation process by the second quarter of the year. Otherwise, the company may move instead to the Phu Nghia industrial zone in Chuong My District.

Lack of capital also delayed relocation of two hospitals. According to Hoang Gia Thang, director of the Ha Noi Health Department’s project management board, problems arose when the Maternity Hospital capacity was increased from 250 beds to 400 beds.

The hospital’s increased scale means that the capacity of the waste water treatment station must also be expanded at a cost of VND6 billion ($343,000).

Director of the city’s Architecture and Planning Department Vu Tuan Dinh said that companies should consider a long-term plan when seeking a new location.

Some industrial zones were located on the outskirts of the city when newly established; but due to fast urbanisation, the zones might soon fall within city limits, forcing companies to move again.

If the Sunggei Way company chooses to move to the Dong Mai industrial zone, it would easily fall into this category, he added.

Authorities’ opinion

Senior lieutenant-colonel Tran Trong Binh, head of the Ha Noi Environment Police Department, admitted that companies faced difficulties, but also said that the companies weren’t committed to moving and would intentionally wait for assets to be fully depreciated.

“We discovered some factories failing to operate their waste treatment systems. When we investigated, they said that the systems were broken.”

“Agencies responsible for investigation and solutions to environmental pollution are not clearly separated,” Binh said further.

To solve the problem, the city would need to establish an environmental pollution steering committee, he suggested.

Deputy chairman of the city’s People’s Committee Vu Hong Khanh said that the city promised to give enterprises as much support as possible, but that they would still be required to follow the relocation schedule.

“The city will be strict in the application of legal punishment on enterprises that intentionally prolong implementation of Decision 64.”

The city would establish a steering committee as suggested by Binh, Khanh said, and asked relevant authorities to continue to investigate polluters.

Khanh stressed that all enterprises must satisfy environmental protection requirements, whether they are moved to other locations or if they stay in the city, saying that “Ha Noi will not pollute other provinces.”

The city will continue to observe relocated enterprises. If they continue with violations, they would be added to the list of enterprises causing serious pollution and be punished, he added.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News