The People’s Committee of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province on March 14 announced a document on the establishment of an inspection team for Formosa International Development Corporation (FIDC) – the investor of My Xuan A2 Industrial Park (Phu My town) and the Management Board of related industrial parks, which have been involved in recent disputes.
Prior to this, 19 enterprises operating in My Xuan A2 Industrial Park submitted a petition to the authorities, reflecting that FIDC has unilaterally issued new regulations to increase service prices. Specifically, since November 2023, FIDC has raised the wastewater treatment fee from 5,208 VND/m3 to 15,300 VND/m3 (an increase of 194%), contrary to the terms of the contract.
The investor of this industrial park also took the initiative to set up barriers to control the entry and exit of vehicles in the industrial park, and erected traffic signs in the industrial park…
In December 2023, according to the complaints of many enterprises, this industrial park experienced water cuts twice on the 15th and 18th of the month. The sudden water cuts caused production difficulties as the investor did not notify in advance.
According to the report, as of February 26, 2024, FIDC owes Phu My Water Supply Joint Stock Company (Phu My Wasuco) more than 19 billion dong for water supply, which is the reason why water supply to this industrial park has been cut off.
Given the seriousness of the situation, the Party Committee of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province also proposed that the Provincial People’s Committee urgently direct the settlement of the case at FIDC, in order to prevent any negative impacts on the province’s investment environment and the security situation in the area.
The Provincial Party Committee of Ba Ria-Vung Tau also agreed to conduct a comprehensive inspection of this company and clarify the roles and responsibilities of the Management Board of the province’s industrial parks in performing their functions and tasks in accordance with the regulations, and strictly handle violations in accordance with the state’s laws and regulations.
To facilitate the inspection process, the Provincial People’s Committee requested the relevant departments, agencies, and the Phu My town People’s Committee to promptly provide information and related documents for the inspection.
In accordance with the direction of the Provincial People’s Committee, Phu My Wasuco has resumed water supply to this industrial park from February 21 to the end of March 2024, waiting for the settlement of the debt.
The Management Board of the province’s industrial parks has also sent a letter inviting FIDC to attend a meeting to reach an agreement on the payment schedule for water supply.
However, on March 11, FIDC sent a letter notifying that they could not attend the meeting. The reason given was that the legal representative of FIDC is currently abroad on a business trip, and the company did not authorize any other employee of FIDC to attend the meeting.