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(VietNamNet Bridge)-A factory making ATP for export and a copper factory were built on an area of five hectares in Quang Ninh province. However, the local authorities had not heard about the two factories until local people complained about the pollution.

Local authorities keep loose management

The two factories were developed by Hoang Thai Joint Stock Company, headquartered in Hai Ha ward of Mong Cai province. The construction lasted one year, from June 2011 to April 2012. The ATP factory alone has the total investment capital of 10 million dollars.

According to Hoang Trung Thong, President and General Director of Hoang Thai, in 2008, the Quang Ninh provincial people’s committee once granted license to an ATP project in Quang Nghia commune. However, the investor then gave up the project because of the economic recession.

Hoang Thai then realized the bright prospect of ATP production and decided to team up with a Chinese investor to prepare for the project on developing a factory with the capacity of 3000 tons per annum.

Later, Hoang Thai decided to run a 100 percent Vietnamese enterprise instead of a joint venture because of the overly complicated procedures. The Chinese investor would provide technical support, machines and equipments and committed to be responsible for the outlets.

Hoang Thai then invited Mong Cai City’s leaders to visit two ATP factories in China. “After the visit, we thought that the project was approved by the leaders. Therefore, while waiting for the license to be granted, we began the construction of the factory,” Thong said.

“The provincial authorities instructed us to stop the project in March 2012. By that time, we had poured 100 billion dong into the project,” he added.

Besides the ATP factory, Thong has admitted that Hoang Thai Company is also building another factory which would use the redundant materials from the ATP production for the copper smelter. The partner of the project is also a Chinese.

Explaining the existence of the two factories, the local authorities said that they had not been reported about the factories. However, the explanation has been facing the strong opposition from local people, who believe that the big factories capitalized at hundreds of billions of dong must be put under the control of the local authorities.

In fact, the stored documents showed that the local authorities had sufficient information about the projects and about their investors.

In the document No. 104 dated April 27, 2012 sent to the Quang Ninh provincial party committee, Nguyen Quang Diep, Secretary of the Mong Cai City’s party committee clarified that this was a project to be developed by a joint venture between Hoang Thai and Chinese investors.

Mong Cai City’s party committee admits mistake

Diep told An ninh thu do’s reporters on June 28 that only the ATP factory was built without permission. “I have admitted my mistake before people and I will obey the province’s instructions,” he said.

However, though Diep affirmed that the problem would be settled, nothing has been made since November 8, 2011.

On June 25, when the reporters arrived at the ATP factory in Quang Nghia commune, they saw a lot of women working, carrying ore from outside to the workshop.

Meanwhile, the Quang Ninh provincial authorities in its dispatch dated May 31, 2012, requested Hoang Thai to carry all the ores out of the locality, uninstall the illegally set equipment.