Vicem Tower project files lead to prosecution of former Vicem leaders

(Dan Tri) - After many years of abandonment, the Vicem Tower project has recently been restarted. Many former Vicem leaders have also been prosecuted in connection with this project.

On March 5, the Ministry of Public Security announced that the Investigation Police Agency had prosecuted and applied preventive measures against former Chairman of the Board of Members of Vietnam Cement Corporation Le Van Chung for violating regulations on management and use of state assets, causing loss and waste.

For the same crime, Nguyen Ngoc Anh - former General Director; Du Ngoc Long - former Director of Project Management Board and Hoang Ngoc Hieu - former Head of Appraisal Department of Vietnam Cement Corporation, were also prosecuted.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, the above-mentioned procedural decisions are the results of the initial investigation into violations that occurred during the process of preparing documents and implementing the Vicem Commercial Transaction and Operations Center building project (Lot 10E6, Cau Giay Urban Area, Hanoi) of the Vietnam Cement Corporation (under the Ministry of Construction).

The investigation agency said that this project was invested with 1,245 billion VND. During the project implementation, there were many violations causing especially serious loss and waste of state assets.

How wasteful is Vicem Tower being abandoned for many years?

The Vicem Tower project was granted its first investment certificate to Vietnam Cement Corporation (Vicem) in 2010.

The project is built on a land area of ​​nearly 8,500m2 at Lot 10E6 of Cau Giay New Urban Area (Hanoi), located close to Ring Road 3, near Keangnam Tower. The tower has a scale of 31 floors above ground and 4 basements. The total initial investment of the project was 1,951 billion VND, then adjusted to 2,743 billion VND.

The project started in May 2011 and the rough construction was completed in August 2015. However, since then, the project has been abandoned, with only the frame left exposed, and many items rusted and degraded.

According to the plan for arranging and handling houses and land in Decision No. 659 dated June 9, 2015, the Ministry of Construction has allowed Vicem to retain, continue to manage and use the land lot to implement this project.

However, based on regulations and development plans for the 2016-2021 period, Vicem has requested the Ministry of Construction to submit to the Prime Minister for permission for the group to develop a plan and find a partner to transfer Vicem Tower. The Ministry of Construction has submitted a report and the Prime Minister has approved the policy of allowing Vicem to transfer the project in March 2017.

Vicem Tower project is under construction and has been abandoned for many years (Photo: Ha Phong).

However, the project transfer process encountered many difficulties and problems with investment law, land, arrangement and handling of real estate assets belonging to state-owned enterprises, etc., so the project could not be transferred. Therefore, Vicem sent a document requesting the Ministry of Construction to report to the Prime Minister for approval for Vicem to continue investing and completing the tower.

At the end of March 2023, the Ministry of Construction sent a document to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval of the policy allowing Vicem to continue investing in completing the Vicem Tower project. After approval, the Ministry of Construction directed Vicem to implement, ensuring the efficiency of investment capital, land use and compliance with legal regulations.

In May 2023, the Government Office sent a document to the Ministries of Justice, Finance, Planning and Investment, Natural Resources and Environment and the Hanoi People's Committee requesting opinions on the proposal of the Ministry of Construction to allow Vicem to continue implementing the Vicem Tower project.

At the end of 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested the Ministry of Construction to receive opinions from ministries and the Hanoi People's Committee to direct Vicem to continue investing in completing the project according to regulations.

On March 5, the investor Vicem and the consortium of contractors including Phuc Hung Holdings Construction Joint Stock Company and TID Joint Stock Company restarted the Vicem Tower project with package number 23.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/bat-dong-san/ho-so-du-an-vicem-tower-khien-loat-cuu-lanh-dao-vicem-bi-khoi-to-20250305233957200.htm