Many concerns when quarry is located in the middle of... 'eagle's nest'
(Baonghean.vn) - Identified as the industrial center, the growth pole of the province with 2 key Industrial Parks (IPs), Hoang Mai I and Hoang Mai II. However, there are concerns when there are many quarries in the exploitation period located close to the land of high-tech manufacturing factories.
Quarry "surrounds" industrial park
The Government has just signed Decision No. 1164/QD-TTG on October 9, 2023 approving the investment policy of Hoang Mai II Industrial Park Project in Quynh Vinh Commune (Hoang Mai Town) forHoang Thinh Dat Joint Stock Company. Previously, in 2021, this enterprise was also approved in principle for the investment project of Hoang Mai I Industrial Park. This is considered a major step forward in attracting investment in the northern region of the province. In fact, many large investors have been attracted to build factories here.
Currently, in addition to Hoang Mai II Industrial Park which has just received an investment approval decision and is in the process of completing procedures for land lease, land use conversion and project implementation in accordance with the law, Hoang Mai I Industrial Park with an area of 264.77 hectares has almost completed the entire construction infrastructure, attracting many large investors.
The investment projects up to now in Hoang Mai I Industrial Park are mainly foreign direct investment projects, of which the most prominent are the project of the Electronic Components and Auto Parts Factory Phase 1 of Ju Teng International Group, with an area of 120 hectares, total investment capital of 200 million USD; the project of Manufacturing and processing shoes and sandals for export (area of 13.9 hectares, total investment capital of 56 million USD).
Both of these corporations are from Taiwan and have been granted investment certificates and started building factories since September 2022. In addition, in June 2023, a company from Thailand was also approved to invest in a project to produce monocrystalline silicon bars and semiconductor wafers (used in solar panel components), with a total investment of more than 400 million USD, on an area of 30 hectares. These large projects have contributed to increasing the occupancy rate of Hoang Mai I Industrial Park to 82%.
In addition to the project of the export shoe and sandal manufacturing factory, the above mentioned factories all use high technology, have strict requirements on the environment as well as the absolute stability and flatness of the factory and equipment during the production process. However, around Hoang Mai I Industrial Park, where these factories are located, there are still some active quarries, using the mining method by blasting, causing strong vibrations and creating a lot of fine dust. This makes the investor of Hoang Mai I Industrial Park worried.
Specifically, at Hoang Mai Stone Quarry of Hoang Mai Stone Joint Stock Company (located next to National Highway 1A), the distance from the quarry to the land plot for building a shoe and sandal processing factory for export is only 0.64km and 1km from the electronic components factory. According to our research, this quarry previously belonged to Hoang Mai Stone Enterprise (a unit under the Vietnam Railway Union). On October 23, 1995, the Ministry of Heavy Industry granted a mining license to Hoang Mai Stone Enterprise, with an area of 7.5 hectares for a period of 30 years (until 2025). Because the license is still valid, this quarry is still in operation, regularly blasting for mining.
In addition to the above-mentioned quarry, there is also the Bac Hoang Mai A limestone quarry belonging to Nghi Son Cement Company. This quarry is 3km from the export footwear processing factory and 0.4km from the land plot for the construction of the electronic components factory. This quarry has an exploitation period from September 14, 1996 to September 14, 2026.
There are also some limestone mountains in the mining area that have been licensed to Nghi Son Cement Company but have not been exploited yet. Among them, Mac Nac mountain is located adjacent to the southern area of Hoang Mai I Industrial Park, 2.7km from the land plot for building a shoe and sandal processing factory for export, but is located close to the centralized wastewater treatment plant of this industrial park. If Nghi Son Cement Company puts this mountain into exploitation, the works of Ju Teng Group; the 110kV power line currently supplying electricity to Hoa Sen Steel Plant and the planned 500kV power line will be located entirely within the mine safety corridor.
According to the impact assessment when surveying the construction of Hoang Mai I Industrial Park by Hoang Thinh Dat Joint Stock Company, the natural height and size of Mac Nac mountain currently plays an important role in minimizing impacts such as vibrations and fine dust from mining in the southern area of this mountain to Hoang Mai I Industrial Park and neighboring areas.
Research to find suitable solutions
A representative of Hoang Thinh Dat Joint Stock Company said: due to concerns about safety and environmental issues, when the quarries are located too close to the factory area, the unit has also proposed to consider and handle a number of related issues. In particular, it is recommended not to consider extending the mining license of Hoang Mai quarry when the mining period expires. And find a solution for Hoang Mai quarry to stop mining before October 31, 2023, ensuring sufficient conditions for projects to come into operation. At the same time, review and re-evaluate the reserves of the exploited areas to calculate the remaining reserves, so as not to put Mac Nac mountain into exploitation, affecting the operations of the factories in Hoang Mai I Industrial Park in the future.
Regarding the Hoang Mai quarry of Hoang Mai Stone Joint Stock Company, according to our research, this quarry has been recommended to stop operations because the blasting caused rocks and soil to fly onto the railway and National Highway 1A, which is very dangerous to the safety of people and vehicles when participating in traffic through this section. There were even times when this unit was blasting, workers went out to National Highway 1A to block people and vehicles from passing, causing traffic jams. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Hoang Mai town also went to this unit to inspect and work on environmental issues and the issue of stopping operations before the electronic components factory went into operation.
On July 26, 2023, following the proposal of Runergy Company, the Provincial People's Committee issued Document No. 6149/UBND-CN to relevant departments, branches and localities. In particular, for Hoang Mai B limestone mine of Hoang Mai Stone Joint Stock Company, the Provincial People's Committee assigned the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to advise the Provincial People's Committee to report to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment not to continue to extend (or grant new operating licenses); preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies, units and enterprises to agree on stopping mining activities to meet the requirements of the Runergy Project's operational progress.
Regarding the Bac Hoang Mai A limestone mine of Nghi Son Cement Company, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall, during the process of consulting on the extension of the Mining License (if any), take note of the opinion of the People's Committee of Hoang Mai Town on not putting some mountains (including Mac Nac mountain) into exploitation to ensure the landscape and historical relics.
In addition, the Provincial People's Committee also assigned the Department of Industry and Trade to preside over and coordinate with a number of departments, branches, localities, quarry owners and investors in Hoang Mai I Industrial Park to agree on the plan and time of blasting of quarries to minimize vibrations affecting the project's operations.
According to the representative of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Hoang Mai town, because this quarry is still in operation until 2025, and was previously granted by the Ministry of Heavy Industry (the predecessor of the Ministry of Industry and Trade), it is not under the authority of the town.
Mr. Pham Van Hao - Vice Chairman of Hoang Mai Town People's Committee said: The town has also grasped the recommendations of the investor of Hoang Mai I Industrial Park. At some working sessions between the provincial leaders and the town or between the town and the Management Board of Dong Nam Economic Zone, the investor has also made recommendations on issues related to the quarry located near the factories in the industrial park. However, up to this point, there has not been a final decision. Mr. Hao also recommended determining the vibration level when quarries blast for exploitation, from which specific solutions can be found.
It can be seen that, currently, Hoang Mai Town has become the focus of investment attraction of the province with many large investment projects. It is true that there are some quarries that are still in exploitation period located near the construction area of factories in Hoang Mai I Industrial Park. Therefore, it is time to have appropriate solutions to avoid affecting investment attraction in this area.
