Government Inspectorate: Agreed to allow Ha Tinh to lease land to foreign entities for 70 years.

On the afternoon of March 25th, the Government Inspectorate held an official working session with Ha Tinh province regarding the conclusions of the inspection of economic projects. Accordingly, Ha Tinh maintained the land lease term at 70 years.

Ha Tinh maintains the 70-year land lease agreement for foreign businesses.

Previously, on March 3rd, Infonet published an article titled "Ha Tinh retaliates against the 'overstepping government authority to lease land to foreign businesses' case," reflecting the content of some media outlets reporting on the Government Inspectorate's conclusion that there were many serious violations in Ha Tinh during the implementation of economic projects.

Specifically, the investment and construction project of the Son Duong integrated steel plant and deep-water port (Formosa project), owned by Formosa Hung Nghiep Steel Co., Ltd. of Taiwan, has been granted an investment license by the Vung Ang Economic Zone Management Board for a period of 70 years.

Therefore, Ha Tinh's exceeding the government's authority to lease land for up to 70 years is a very serious violation. Immediately afterwards, the Ha Tinh Inspectorate countered the Government Inspectorate's conclusion, affirming that leasing the land to Formosa for 70 years was in accordance with regulations.

On the afternoon of March 25th, the Government Inspectorate announced Conclusion No. 1538/KL-TTCP dated July 3rd, 2014, of the Government Inspectorate regarding basic construction investment and land management and use for a number of projects in Ha Tinh province.

The announcement of the conclusions was chaired by Mr. Nguyen Duc Hanh, Deputy Inspector General of the Government. The Secretary and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Mr. Vo Kim Cu, along with leaders of various departments and agencies, were also present at the meeting.

The Government Inspectorate held an official meeting and announced the conclusions of the inspection on the afternoon of March 25th.

At the meeting, Mr. Ngo Chi Thanh, Deputy Director of the Department for Handling Complaints and Denunciations and Inspections Region II, Government Inspectorate, announced Conclusion No. 1538 on "Compliance with the law on basic construction investment and land management and use for some projects in Ha Tinh province," which clearly pointed out serious violations by Ha Tinh province as Infonet newspaper had previously reported.

Mr. Thanh emphasized that at the time the Government Inspectorate inspected economic projects in this province, specifically Formosa, the Government had not yet agreed to allow this foreign enterprise to lease land for a period exceeding 50 years, as stipulated by regulations.

Representatives from the Government Inspectorate also pointed out that this project is located in a rather sensitive area (a seaport area related to national security and defense), so Ha Tinh's decision to lease land for up to 70 years, bypassing the Government's authority, is a very serious violation.

The Government Inspectorate has requested the Ministry of Planning and Investment to take the lead in reviewing and handling the issuance of the 70-year Investment Certificate to Formosa Company, which is contrary to Article 52 and other relevant legal regulations.

The Government Inspectorate pointed out serious violations in the province's economic projects, and then announced three directives from the Prime Minister, agreeing with Ha Tinh province to allow foreign enterprises to lease land for 70 years, and exempting them from resource tax for sand dredging and leveling activities of the project, and granting the investor a 60% discount on environmental protection fees for this activity.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Inspector General Nguyen Duc Hanh said that announcing the conclusions of the Government Inspectorate is a normal procedure in accordance with the Law on Inspection and the Law on Prevention and Combat of Corruption.

He affirmed that the conclusions of the Government Inspectorate were objective, stating, "Through the inspection, shortcomings in the state management mechanism have been identified. This will help improve state management and allow for timely recommendations to state management agencies to address these deficiencies."

Mr. Vo Kim Cu, Secretary and Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province, said that the province seriously accepts the contents of the Government Inspectorate's conclusions. Ha Tinh province has also conducted a comprehensive and serious assessment and issued decisive directives. “This is an opportunity for organizations and individuals to review whether they have acted correctly, to put an end to shortcomings and violations. We will conduct a serious and public review, and commit to rectifying the violations. We request the Government Inspectorate to review the attitude of the leaders of Ha Tinh province,” Mr. Vo Kim Cu said.

“We listened to and absorbed the directives of the Government Inspectorate. At the same time, we requested relevant individuals and departments to conduct self-examinations to improve performance, and to seriously review and self-criticize in accordance with the directives of the Government Inspectorate and the Provincial People's Committee. We request the Inspectorate to continue to monitor, urge, and supervise our implementation of the Inspectorate's conclusions,” Mr. Cu added.

The Formosa mega-construction site is being built at a rapid pace.

The Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province stated that Ha Tinh's granting of a 70-year license to Formosa was based on the approval of the Government and the Ministry of Planning and Investment. However, the Deputy Inspector General of the Government countered, saying that these two concepts should not be equated.

The Government and the Ministry of Planning and Investment's agreement to allow foreign enterprises to lease land for 70 years was made after the conclusion of the Government Inspectorate. When the Prime Minister approved the 70-year land lease for investors in Ha Tinh, the Government Inspectorate fully agreed. If the Government Inspectorate goes against the Prime Minister's conclusion, it is a violation.

The Deputy Inspector General of the Government also welcomed the leadership of Ha Tinh province in rectifying the violations. Mr. Hanh added that after personally inspecting the projects and constructions that violated regulations, as previously reported by the Government Inspectorate (two years ago), Ha Tinh province has now rectified and constructed many projects.

According to the conclusions of the Government Inspectorate, during the inspection of 1,120 construction packages at 402 district-level projects assigned by the Provincial People's Committee as the investor, the Government Inspectorate discovered that as many as 664 packages (accounting for nearly 60%) were allowed by the Ha Tinh Provincial People's Committee to be implemented through restricted bidding and direct contracting, violating the Law on Bidding and the Law on Construction. Of these, 404 packages selected through restricted bidding had over 60% behind schedule and required compensation for material and labor costs totaling over 40 billion VND.

In conclusion, the Government Inspectorate found that, during the period from June 13, 2008 to December 31, 2012, the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province granted 30 mining licenses covering a total area of ​​132.95 hectares of land outside the planned area, in violation of the law and the Mineral Resources Law.

According to Infonet