Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction (MoC) has instructed the Vietnam Cement Industry Corp (VICEM) to advance plans to cease operations, relocate and convert the Ha Long Cement Company’s cement plant in Ha Long City.
The plant was originally earmarked for closure, along with the Thang Long cement plant, in 2020. The news follows increased government scrutiny into VICEM after the company reported a consecutive year of losses in January, with the MoC mandating VICEM to implement its 2021-2025 restructuring plan.
Tower project
Additionally, the MoC has asked VICEM to revive the infamous Vicem Operations and Transaction Centre project in Hanoi’s Cau Giay New City area. Work on the project, a 31-floor (and four basements) tower, originally commenced in March 2011, with rough construction completed by 2015, before being abandoned for nearly a decade.
Between 2016 and 2021, VICEM requested to the MoC to submit to the Prime Minister for permission for the group to develop a plan and find a partner to transfer Vicem Tower. The transfer process ran into numerous problems before VICEM eventually requested to resume and complete the work, which began in March this year.
Also in March, Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security announced that several former VICEM executives were to be prosecuted for a number of violations relating to the project.
