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