Vietnam ministry considers pulling plug on Hong Kong pulp mill
Vietnam ministry considers pulling plug on Hong Kong pulp mill
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is poised to file a proposal to the government, calling on it to suspend the construction of a Hong Kong-invested pulp mill in southern Vietnam over the negative environmental effects it may cause.
Lee & Man Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s Lee & Man Paper, is raising environmental concerns with its US$628.7 million paper complex in Hau Giang Province.
The controversial project features a papermaking plant, a pulp mill and several supporting constructions such as a seaport, a power plant and a wastewater treatment zone.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed that the pulp mill, capable of producing 330,000 metric tons of product a year, be suspended from construction to ensure environmental protection.
The ministry said the Hau Giang administration had licensed the construction of that pulp mill without asking for its advice, which is against regulations.
In 2007, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, at that time known as the Ministry of Industry, backed the province’s proposal to allow the Hong Kong developer to build the papermaking plant, but did not receive any request for consultation on the pulp mill construction.
Despite this, the Hau Giang administration granted the license for Lee & Man Paper to develop the pulp facility along with the papermaking plant, which an official from the industry and trade ministry said “goes against the government’s regulations.”
In its latest proposal, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said the papermaking and pulp facilities are different in nature, and therefore need to be evaluated separately.
The ministry supported the papermaking plant, which is designed to produce carton papers, of which domestic supply was only able to meet 40 percent of demand at the time of licensing in 2007.
“As for the pulp mill, things are different because this type of plant uses wood as raw material and requires a number of chemicals for production,” the ministry explained.
As Hau Giang is located in the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam, the local land conditions are not suitable for developing material areas to serve the production of pulp.
For these reasons, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has concluded that “it is advisable to consider pulling the plug on the pulp project.”
