After two extensions, the Quang Ngai Water Plant is still under construction. Despite the delay, the project recovery remains pending.
The construction site is quiet.
Quang Ngai Water Plant Project is located in two communes, Nghia Ky and Nghia Thuan (Tu Nghia district).
According to Giao thong Newspaper reporters, in late October, the project site was deserted, with only a few people present. There was no indication that the project was in a phase where it needed to be rushed to completion.
The Quang Ngai water supply plant headworks cluster is continuously behind schedule and construction is unfinished.
The entire project site is messy, unfinished, overgrown with weeds and filthy. Many construction items have been under construction for a long time but have not been able to be connected for operation, showing signs of deterioration.
Seeing a stranger going inside, a security guard in his 60s ran over to "ask" and firmly refused to let him in, saying the building was under construction.
According to local people, for many months the project construction has been done in a perfunctory manner, with only a few workers working.
“They were given land to build a clean water plant, but it has been 5 years and it is still not finished.
There was a time in mid-2023 when Quang Ngai province issued a directive, so they hired workers to work vigorously.
"I thought the project would be completed, but it was just a formality and then everything remained the same," said Mr. N, a local resident.
Along the water pipeline route constructed by Hoang Thinh Dat Joint Stock Company, some sections are buried underground, while others are left floating above ground. The section bordering Tu Nghia district and Quang Ngai city is “lost”.
Continuing towards Quang Ngai city along Hoang Hoa Tham street are piles of plastic pipes gathered by investors, after a whole year of not being used, so the dust is thick.
Nearly 10 years still unfinished
It is known that in October 2015, Quang Ngai province granted an investment license to Hoang Thinh Dat Joint Stock Company to invest in the Quang Ngai Water Plant project.
The project's goal is to ensure water supply for people in Quang Ngai city and communes of Tu Nghia district.
Hundreds of plastic water pipes were gathered by investors along Hoang Hoa Tham Street.
The project has a water supply scale of 50,000m3/day and night, on an area of about 13.7ha. The total investment capital of the project is 540 billion VND, divided into 2 phases.
According to plan, by the end of 2019, phase 1 of this project will be completed and put into operation.
However, up to now, 9 years have passed since the investment policy was granted, the largest water supply project in Quang Ngai is still unfinished.
In 2023, Quang Ngai province agreed to adjust the investment policy, extending the project implementation period to December 31, 2023; at the same time, the province also set a condition that within 12 months from the date of issuance of the decision to adjust the investment policy, if the investor does not implement or is unable to implement according to the registered schedule, it will consider terminating the project.
However, the project is still behind schedule despite incentives in terms of land, corporate income tax, investment support, technical infrastructure construction, and labor training.
Dilemma?
Speaking with Giao Thong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Van Trong, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of Quang Ngai, said that legally, according to the adjusted investment policy, the project expires in December 2023.
Water pipes are scattered along the road.
“Recently, the investor submitted an application for adjustment of the investment policy and stated that the project will be completed in the second quarter of 2025.
However, the Department has no basis to advise the Provincial People's Committee to extend the progress," said Mr. Trong.
Regarding the fact that the project has expired long ago but the investor is still constructing, Mr. Trong said that the fact that the province has not extended the deadline but the investor is still constructing is a violation of the law. However, to resolve this project in a reasonable and sympathetic manner is not easy.
“Legally, it is very difficult to extend the completion time for a project that is behind schedule or has been delayed. But conversely, it is not easy to terminate the investment policy.
After receiving the dossier from Hoang Thinh Dat Joint Stock Company, the Department of Planning and Investment will consult with departments and branches and advise the Provincial People's Committee to organize a meeting to discuss the implementation policy to resolve it," said Mr. Trong.
At a recent meeting, Vice Chairman of Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee Tran Hoang Tuan also requested the Department of Planning and Investment and related units to specifically report on the legality of the project.
According to Mr. Tuan, it is impossible to let a delayed project exist while the province has supported it with policies and time.
To clarify the progress and legality of the project, the reporter contacted Mr. Hoang Van Duong, legal representative of Hoang Thinh Dat Joint Stock Company by phone, but Mr. Duong did not answer the phone.
Meanwhile, when contacting the management board of Quang Ngai Water Supply and Construction Joint Stock Company (a subsidiary of Hoang Thinh Dat), the reporter was informed by the company representative that all decision-making and response rights are reserved by the group's management board, while Water Supply and Construction Joint Stock Company only monitors the project and has no right to respond.
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