Electricity sold for 7 years but land procedures not completed
In 2014, Quang Ngai 30.4 Joint Stock Company built two Son Tra 1A and 1B Hydropower Plants. At the end of 2018, both plants simultaneously generated electricity and connected to the grid. At the end of 2021, Son Tra 1C Hydropower Plant was also officially connected to the national grid. The plant cluster has a total capacity of 69MW, with a total investment of nearly 2,500 billion VND.
To transmit the electricity generated from the three above-mentioned plants, in 2016, the enterprise received the transfer of land use rights from the people and built 64 110kV power poles, with a total length of 25km, to bring electricity from the hydropower complex to the 220kV Son Ha transformer station. In mid-2022, Quang Ngai 30.4 Joint Stock Company was renamed Dat Phuong Son Tra Hydropower Joint Stock Company to continue managing and operating the plants.
However, after 7 years of operation, all the land positions where the enterprise has completed the construction of 64 electricity poles mentioned above have not yet been changed in purpose of use, allocated or leased by competent authorities.
Department of Natural Resources and Environment suggests steps to complete procedures
Speaking to a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, a representative of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE) of Quang Ngai province confided: "It is not right to proceed with the construction of a series of electric poles without completing legal procedures. Dat Phuong Son Tra Hydropower Joint Stock Company is too stubborn and refuses to complete legal procedures."
According to the representative of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the investment policy clearly states: "The entire scale of the project is indicative", so it can be increased or decreased. Based on this basis, the investor must coordinate and ask for permission from the competent authorities to adjust the scale of the Son Tra 1 Hydropower project, update the location of the power poles in the project. Then update the land use planning, land use plan. Carrying out land recovery, changing land use purposes, and land allocation can be resolved. To resolve the issue, there must be consensus from departments, branches, localities and the investor".
However, according to the representative of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Department of Planning and Investment (DPI) currently does not agree to adjust the investment policy decision of the Son Tra 1 Hydropower project because it has been completed and connected to the grid for a long time, because there is no consensus among departments and branches, so the representative of the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment also frankly said: "The investor has finished the construction, so what is the Department of Natural Resources and Environment doing the land allocation procedures for? If the investor illegally builds on land for the wrong purpose, we will fine them, require them to dismantle, restore the original state... and then consider further".
Also according to the representative of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, if the Department of Planning and Investment and the Department of Industry and Trade add the power line item to the project investment policy decision, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment will guide the District People's Committee to update the planning and land use plan, from here serving as a basis for completing legal procedures on land for the above 64 power poles.
Speaking to reporters from Lao Dong Newspaper, the leader of the Department of Industry and Trade said that he did not know why the investor had not completed the land procedures yet. The authorities had met many times, but had not been able to resolve the issue. It is expected that in November 2024, the Provincial People's Committee will meet to resolve the issue.
