The Chorus of ‘Commitment, Extension’ for a High-Tech Project Worth Over 370 Billion

Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Cam Lo district, Tran Hoai Linh, stated that the high-tech agricultural project, FAM Quang Tri, was granted investment approval by the provincial People’s Committee in June 2018. The project, with a total investment of over VND 370 billion, is developed by Quang Tri FAM Agricultural Import-Export Production and Business Co., Ltd. (under the FLC Group) as the investor.

The project aims to construct a large-scale agricultural production area that employs advanced technology, automation, and mechanization to serve domestic consumption and export needs. It also involves the preservation, preliminary processing, and modern technology-based processing of agricultural products.

Following investment approval, the investor established the project’s construction planning, which was approved by the Quang Tri provincial People’s Committee. The total compensation and site clearance fund amounted to over VND 14 billion, of which the investor transferred VND 5.2 billion in two installments for site clearance compensation. The People’s Committee of Cam Lo district organized the payment of VND 4.9 billion to the affected subjects, corresponding to nearly 60 hectares of the project. On this area, the investor organized land grading and clearing of the site in the second quarter of 2019 and then halted all activities, leaving the project abandoned until now.

“The People’s Committee of Cam Lo district has repeatedly urged and requested the investor to promptly transfer the remaining site clearance compensation funds. Regarding the remaining area of 138 hectares, the investor has repeatedly committed to transferring the compensation funds for site clearance since 2019 but has not done so. Initially, Cam Lo district suggested that the provincial People’s Committee terminate the investment policy for this area and requested the investor to urgently implement the project on the 60-hectare area that had been cleared. However, as the investor remained inactive, the district proposed that the province consider terminating the entire project,” said Tran Hoai Linh.

According to Tran Hoai Linh, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Cam Lo district, FAM Quang Tri Company has repeatedly made commitments to implement the project, along with proposals for deadline extensions, each time the Quang Tri province considered revoking the project.

Specifically, after the Quang Tri provincial People’s Committee notified the company about the procedures for terminating the project’s operations at the end of 2022 (as well as the review of the project by relevant departments and the locality), on July 4, 2024, FAM Quang Tri Company submitted a report on the project implementation plan. “The investor wishes to continue and soon complete the project and commits to propose completing the overall implementation plan for the project and reporting to the authorities of Quang Tri province in December 2024,” they stated.

On September 12, 2024, the Office of the Quang Tri provincial People’s Committee issued a notice of the conclusion of Vice Chairman Ha Sy Dong, requesting the investor to promptly finalize the project dossier and procedures if they intend to invest in the cleared area of 60 hectares. The investor was asked to submit them to the Department of Planning and Investment (now the Department of Finance of Quang Tri) for review and appraisal before September 30, 2024.

On September 16, 2024, FAM Quang Tri Company again committed and proposed to report the project implementation plan to the authorities of Quang Tri province in December 2024. On December 18, 2024, the investor once more committed to proposing the project implementation plan in the first quarter of 2025.

The Quang Tri Department of Planning and Investment requested FAM Quang Tri Company to implement the deposit and commit to the progress of the project before January 20. However, on January 17, the investor submitted a new document, committing to complete the deposit payment, finalize the project implementation plan, and report to the People’s Committee of Quang Tri province in the first quarter; they also proposed a roadmap to complete the tasks and legal procedures related to the project from the second quarter of this year to the fourth quarter of 2027.

Once more, the Quang Tri Department of Planning and Investment requested the investor to pay the deposit to guarantee the project implementation and propose the project implementation plan before March 15. However, the investor neither fulfilled the commitment nor provided any response after this deadline.

Le Thi Thuong, Vice Director of the Quang Tri Department of Finance, said that up to now, the project has been delayed by 72 months compared to the initial approval schedule and 54 months compared to the adjusted approval schedule. Many related procedures, such as compensation, site clearance support, forest land use conversion, etc., have not been completed.

“To decisively address the existing problems of the FAM Quang Tri High-tech Agricultural Project, the Quang Tri Department of Finance proposes that the provincial People’s Committee consider and agree to terminate the entire project and assign the People’s Committee of Cam Lo district to manage and develop an appropriate and effective plan for the 60 hectares that have been compensated and cleared. This plan should include finding other investors to research and propose similar projects,” said Le Thi Thuong.