ANTD.VN - On March 5, Vietnam Cement Corporation announced that the company has begun the process of reviving the trillion-dollar tower project that has been abandoned for decades in the Cau Giay New Urban Area, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi. Also on March 5, many former leaders of this company were prosecuted and temporarily detained for investigation related to this infamous project.
The streak of trillion-dollar losses over the past few years has not ended yet.
Informing the reporter of An ninh Thu do, Mr. Ha Quang Hien, Chief of Office of Vietnam Cement Corporation (Vicem) said that on March 5, Vicem began the process of reviving the Vicem Operations and Transaction Center building at lot 10E6 of Cau Giay new urban area, Pham Hung street with package number 23 (the package to be implemented is the package to install the facade system (outside) of the building).
The tower, worth thousands of billions of dong, has been left unfinished by this Corporation for decades, causing waste of state assets and causing public outrage for a long time.
It is worth mentioning that Vicem restarted the revival of this trillion-dollar tower in a rather awkward context when on March 5, the Investigation Police Agency (IPA) - Ministry of Public Security informed that it had issued a decision to prosecute 4 defendants who were former leaders and officials of Vicem to investigate the crime of "Violating regulations on management and use of State assets causing loss and waste" related to the trillion-dollar project in Cau Giay district, Hanoi.
Specifically, on March 2, the Investigation Police Agency initiated a criminal case related to violations occurring at Vicem and related units. The defendants prosecuted include: Le Van Chung - former Chairman of the Board of Members; Nguyen Ngoc Anh - former General Director; Du Ngoc Long - former Director of the Project Management Board; Hoang Ngoc Hieu - former Head of the Appraisal Department of Vicem. All defendants were prosecuted for the crime of "Violating regulations on management and use of State assets causing loss and waste", according to Clause 3, Article 219 of the Penal Code.
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Vicem's abandoned trillion-dollar tower project in Cau Giay New Urban Area for 10 years is silent on the morning of March 6. |
Vicem is a 45-year-old enterprise under the Ministry of Construction, managing 10 factories nationwide with 16 production lines, a capacity of 20 million tons of clinker and 27 million tons of cement per year. The ecosystem is famous for cement brands such as Ha Tien, Hai Phong, Bim Son, Hoang Thach, But Son, Hoang Mai...
However, in recent years, the production and business situation of this "giant" in the cement industry has also been poor, falling into continuous losses. This is also the only unit among the 6 enterprises under the Ministry of Construction to operate at a loss in 2024. Specifically, Vicem's parent company's profit was negative more than 236 billion VND and its consolidated loss was 1,400 billion VND due to the poor market.
2024 is the second consecutive year of loss for the Vietnamese cement giant. In 2023, Vicem recorded negative profit for the first time, about VND1,129 billion, due to a sharp decrease in demand since the information was announced in 2016. By the end of 2023, the company's accumulated loss was about VND2,240 billion.
In the chaotic context above, Vicem is still determined to initiate the process of reviving the abandoned tower project for decades in Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi.
Where will the resources come from to revive the tower?
In a document sent to the Ministry of Construction and the Hanoi People's Committee on February 28, regarding the completion of the Vicem Operations and Transaction Center project, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Viet, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vicem, said that the tower project has a scale of 31 floors above ground and 4 basements. The total investment adjusted for the first time is more than 2,700 billion VND.
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Authorities are concerned about Vicem's ability to continue completing the project amid the company's continuous losses. |
Vicem started construction of this 2,700 billion VND tower in May 2011. By August 2015, the underground structure and rough structure with 31 floors above ground were completed according to the design.
However, since 2016, Vicem said that after the policy on State capital investment in enterprises and management and use of capital and assets at enterprises took effect, the Corporation realized that the investment in the Vicem Operations and Transaction Center project was related to the real estate business sector, so the enterprise reported to the competent authorities to allow the transfer of the project to recover investment capital.
However, due to many difficulties, the project could not be transferred. By 2023, Vicem had applied to keep this 2,700 billion VND tower for continued use and was approved by the Government.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vicem said that the enterprise is reporting to the Ministry of Construction for approval so that the Board of Directors of Vicem can decide to approve the project adjustment as a basis for implementing the next tasks.
According to Vicem's (expected) progress of reviving the tower, in the first quarter of 2025, the project's legal documents will be completed, such as adjusting the policy, completing the project documents, approving the design adjustment documents, etc.
From the second quarter of 2025 to the fourth quarter of 2026, the remaining packages will be implemented, such as 8 equipment supply and installation packages... It is expected that if everything goes well, Vicem will be able to complete this tower and put it into use in the second quarter of 2026.
Meanwhile, in the document seeking opinions from relevant departments and branches of the Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment (now the Hanoi Department of Finance) dated February 20, 2025 on Vicem reviving the tower, the Department of Planning and Investment made a series of clear proposals.
Accordingly, with the Department of Construction, the Department of Planning and Investment requested to evaluate the project implementation progress according to the adjustment request and the investor's explanation report, total investment capital, method of determining total investment capital, investment rate when continuing to implement the project with the provisions of relevant laws that have changed and specialized economic and technical norms; the change in the facade design of the tower block from the 6th to the 31st floor; attention to the quality of the project when the project has been behind schedule for a long time, many construction items have been under construction for a long time.
At the same time, it is necessary to assess the financial capacity of the investor to implement the project; simultaneously implement the project according to current legal regulations and the efficiency of capital use, economic and social efficiency of the project.
Along with that, it is necessary to evaluate the management and use of State capital at Vietnam Cement Corporation and the rearrangement and handling of houses and land at Lot 10-E6 Cau Giay New Urban Area, Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi by the investor according to the content of the report, explanation and regulations in Decree No. 03/2025/ND-CP dated January 1, 2025 regulating the rearrangement and handling of public assets such as houses and land.
The Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment also requested the People's Committee of Nam Tu Liem District to evaluate compliance with legal regulations on construction order, especially regarding the content of the concrete mezzanine on the 13th floor of the tower according to the opinion of the Department of Construction.
Started... then silent again?
According to a reporter's observations at 9:30 a.m. on March 6, Vicem's abandoned trillion-dollar tower project in Cau Giay New Urban Area, Hanoi, remained closed and silent, with no sign of workers or construction machinery to start the project as expected.
Source: https://www.anninhthudo.vn/vicem-se-hoi-sinh-toa-thap-nghin-ty-bo-hoang-10-nam-ra-sao-khi-lien-tuc-thua-lo-post605248.antd
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