Abandoned projects, waste of land
In early November, at the FLC High-tech Agriculture Project in Thach Van Commune of FAM Ha Tinh Agricultural Products Production and Import-Export Trading Company Limited (abbreviated as FAM Ha Tinh Company, under FLC Group), the reporter noted that this project was abandoned, no longer cultivated or grown. Dozens of hectares of abandoned land were overgrown with weeds... Notably, in 2013, the Ha Tinh Minerals and Trading Corporation (Mitraco) implemented a pilot project to grow high-tech vegetables, tubers and fruits on sand. However, later, due to many reasons such as high irrigation costs and difficult consumer markets, the project operated at a standstill and was ineffective.
In early 2018, the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province approved the investment policy of the FLC - Ha Tinh High-tech Agriculture Project in Thach Van commune for FAM Ha Tinh Company. Accordingly, Mitraco Ha Tinh transferred the project land to FAM Ha Tinh Company.
According to the decision approving the investment policy, FAM Ha Tinh Company will implement a high-tech agricultural project on an area of about 240 hectares, with a total estimated investment of 300 billion VND. The project will operate for 50 years. The project's goal is to organize the cultivation and production of clean, quality, safe, nutritious vegetables, tubers and fruits... for domestic use and export.
The investor then renovated some areas, conducted experimental planting of red-fleshed dragon fruit and some other plants, but it was also ineffective, leaving the land fallow and wasteful. By 2021, the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province had directed the relevant agencies to review and advise on the revocation of this project. However, the investor requested to adjust the scale, only cultivating on an area of more than 96 hectares received from Mitraco Ha Tinh out of a total of more than 240 hectares of the project. At one point, the investor requested to change the project to pig farming with a scale of 60,000 pigs/batch, but was not approved by the local authorities.
Please return the project
Mr. Duong Van Thai - Chairman of the People's Committee of Thach Van Commune - said that the FLC - Ha Tinh High-Tech Agriculture Project of FAM Ha Tinh Company deployed in this commune was ineffective and has been abandoned for a long time, not producing.
The local government and people have repeatedly petitioned and proposed to the province, district and relevant agencies to consider revoking the project to hand over this land area to the people for renovation, cleaning and continuing to develop vegetable, root and fruit production to bring income to the people. However, to date, there has been no decision to revoke the project.
On November 5, Mr. Nguyen Van Sau - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Thach Ha district - said that the FLC - Ha Tinh High-tech Agriculture project was ineffective, so recently, the local government and people have repeatedly proposed to the Provincial People's Committee to terminate this project, hand over the land to invite new investors or return the land for people to renovate and cultivate. Also according to Mr. Sau, recently, the Department of Planning and Investment of Ha Tinh province invited the investor and Thach Ha district to work on the above project. At the meeting, the investor asked to return the project, the reason being that production was ineffective. Currently, the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province has assigned relevant departments and localities to advise on handling this issue.
