Violation of regulations of law on investment and land
The safe vegetable and fruit farm project proposed for investment by Thien Son One Member Co., Ltd. was granted an investment policy decision by the Provincial People's Committee in October 2016.
This company was leased land by the Provincial People's Committee in Nghia Thuan commune, Tu Nghia district, Quang Ngai province with an area of over 48,000m². The term is until December 2065.
On August 3, 2018, Thien Son Company Limited signed a cooperation contract with Song Tra Quang Ngai Production, Trade and Service Company Limited. According to the contract, Thien Son Company Limited contributed capital by using land use rights leased by the State, Song Tra Quang Ngai Production, Trade and Service Company Limited contributed capital by investing money, building infrastructure, building processes and directly producing and trading, cultivating and raising livestock.
Song Tra Quang Ngai Production, Trade and Service Company Limited paid 60 million VND/year in land profits to Thien Son Company Limited. However, according to a report by Thien Son Company Limited in July 2023, during the process of investment and production cooperation, the two companies had conflicts, leading to disputes.
The project's goal is to produce leafy vegetables, fruit vegetables... Capacity: 1 ton of vegetables and fruits/day; about 300 tons of vegetables and fruits/year. Total investment capital: 10 billion VND. Despite the grand scale, according to the reporter's records, many plots of land are abandoned and overgrown with weeds. There are almost no safe vegetable and fruit production activities as the investor envisioned.
According to the Department of Planning and Investment of Quang Ngai province, Thien Son One Member Co., Ltd. was leased land by the Provincial People's Committee but has not yet put the land into use in accordance with the approved investment project. The company committed to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to complete the project by the end of 2022 at the latest, however, up to now the company has not implemented the committed contents. Therefore, the Department of Planning and Investment found that Thien Son One Member Co., Ltd. did not ensure the ability to implement this project and violated the provisions of the law on investment and land.
Local voters' continuous petitions and complaints that the project is not being implemented in accordance with its objectives and scale, causing waste of land, are well-founded.
Mr. Nguyen Van No in My Thinh Nam village, Nghia Thuan commune, Tu Nghia district said that the land area that Thien Son Company Limited rented was previously managed by My Phuoc Agricultural Cooperative, and many households cultivated on the land. In 2012, the State reclaimed it to lease to Thien Son Company Limited for a vegetable growing project, then they switched to lemongrass growing, but it was not effective. Out of frustration, the people repeatedly petitioned the State to reclaim it, to avoid waste.
Proposal to withdraw the project
The Department of Planning and Investment said that current laws do not clearly stipulate the termination and revocation of projects that violate progress. Although the Ministry of Planning and Investment has been consulted many times, there has been no response, while the handling of projects that are behind schedule is still stuck due to unclear legal regulations. The agencies also stated that the revocation of projects mainly depends on the voluntary participation of investors.
The meeting agreed that for projects that have been leased land by the State, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment will be responsible for inspecting, reviewing, and handling land violations, reclaiming land leased to enterprises, and then proceeding to terminate the project in accordance with the law. The Department of Planning and Investment has requested the Provincial People's Committee to consider and direct the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to inspect and handle land violations and advise the Provincial People's Committee to reclaim land leased to this company (if eligible).
According to the report of Tu Nghia District People's Committee, during meetings with voters and dialogues with the District Party Secretary, people of Nghia Thuan commune repeatedly reported that the vegetable farm project of Thien Son Company was slow to implement, wasted land, and used for the wrong purpose, while people lacked land for production, and requested land recovery.
