Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has told a Chinese contractor to comply with Vietnamese laws while building the country's second aluminum plant in the Central Highlands Dak Nong Province.

He made the statement regarding China Aluminum International Engineering Corporation, or Chalieco, as work on the Nhan Co aluminum plant began Sunday.

"This is a start for the alumina industry. The project should meet requirements on economic effectiveness, environment protection, security and sustainable development," the PM was quoted by newswire Vietnamnet as saying.

He asked the investor, Nhan Co Alumina Joint Stock Company under Vietnam's coal monopoly Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin), and any contractors working on the plant to "strictly" follow the plan that has been approved.

The Ministry of Transport was asked to build more roads and railways in the Central Highlands to boost the burgeoning alumina industry. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was asked to cooperate with the authorities in Dak Nong and Lam Dong Provinces to limit the harm done by aluminum plants to the environment.

Vietnam's first aluminum plant, Tan Rai, is located in Lam Dong.

The Nhan Co plant cost nearly VND12 trillion (US$643,300) and is expected to produce around 650,000 tons of aluminum a year. It will occupy 850 hectares and exploit bauxite for processing on around 2,650 hectares of surrounding facilities. Around 60 hectares will be leased out for bauxite processing every year and will be returned to local residents after two years.

Nhan Co Company is spending VND5 billion on a new center to study the best ways to return soil to its normal condition after bauxite processing.

Bui Quang Tien, general director of the Nhan Co Alumina Joint Stock Company, said the project is not in cooperation with any country and only Vietnamese people will operate the plant once it is completed.

Up to 700 foreigners will be employed by the plant, but only to build it, Tien said.

Vinacomin has sent 70 people overseas for training to operate the future plant. Over 300 others have been trained at home.

Project managers said they had paid around VND110 billion in environmental fees and will give a further VND13 billion every year to help recover the local environment after bauxite processing.

To be finished in two years according to the plan, the Nhan Co plant is estimated to make a profit of VND644 billion a year in order to take back the whole investment after more than 12 years. It will add around VND900 billion to the state budget every year, the ministry said.

Source: Thanh Nien