Abandoned trillion-dollar project
Accordingly, the FLC Hoang Long Industrial Park expansion project (in Thanh Hoa) was started in September 2015. The project has a scale of more than 286 hectares, including administrative boundaries of Hoang Anh and Hoang Long communes (now merged into Long Anh ward) and Hoang Quang commune of Thanh Hoa city; Hoang Minh, Hoang Dong and Hoang Thinh communes of Hoang Hoa district (Thanh Hoa province).
The total investment of the project is more than 2,300 billion VND, designed as a model industrial park, meeting international standards to serve many industries. When put into operation, the project will attract 60,000 - 80,000 workers. However, many years after the groundbreaking date, the project has only built a welcome gate, erected a few hundred meters of the surrounding wall system and leveled the land around the gate area (this area has now been dismantled), most of the remaining area is abandoned.
By the end of April 2022, the Chairman of Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee assigned the Management Board of Nghi Son Economic Zone and industrial parks to prepare procedures and work with FLC Group to carry out procedures to terminate project activities.
Following that, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province directed and assigned Thanh Hoa city and Hoang Hoa district to come up with an investment plan to build irrigation canals so that people could restore production and resume farming. In response to the request of the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province, Thanh Hoa city and Hoang Hoa district held a meeting with the people and came up with a plan to deploy and implement.
Proceed to plowing again
Talking to Lao Dong about the above incident, Mr. Le Thieu Phuc - Deputy Head of Economic Department - Thanh Hoa City People's Committee, Thanh Hoa Province - said that regarding the FLC Hoang Long Industrial Park expansion project, about 70 hectares (in Long Anh ward and Hoang Quang commune) in the city were affected.
“After many years, this area was left unused and fallow. Under the direction of the Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee, in November 2023, the city implemented and restored production activities here. When we held a meeting with the people, there were two directions for implementation. The first is that people with fields will do it themselves, the second is that people can lease it to an organization or individual for production,” said Mr. Phuc.
According to Mr. Phuc, through the meetings, most households do not have the need to cultivate again but agree to let organizations or individuals rent, renovate and produce. Therefore, up to now, the area of the former FLC Group project (within the administrative boundaries of Thanh Hoa City) is being assigned to an individual household (in Hoang Loc commune, Hoang Hoa district) to manage and organize production.
“Up to now, this household has been able to grow two rice crops on a part of the area, with the remaining area continuing to renovate and repair the irrigation system due to many years of abandonment and damage. Thanh Hoa City People's Committee has also submitted a document to the Provincial People's Committee on support for renovating and improving the quality of rice-growing land in this area, according to Decree 112 of 2024" - Mr. Phuc informed.
According to the actual records of the Lao Dong Newspaper reporter, in the project area (now in Hoang Hoa district), some households have also taken over the contracts of the people's fields to cultivate and plow again. A small part of the area (where FLC Group previously built a welcome gate and surrounded by walls) is still abandoned, because this location has been leveled, making it impossible to cultivate. In fact, this place is becoming a place to dump waste, losing its beauty and causing pollution.
