Investors may pledge to implement huge projects, but many however remain on paper, ignoring the impact on households who give up their land for the work to commence.

South East Asia's largest iron ore project in Thach Khe 

Huge projects remain on paper

Registered transportation, real estate, tourism or mining projects have increased each year. According to the General Statistic Office, capital in these projects was estimated at VND877.9 trillion (USD43 billion) in 2011, an increase of 5.7% compared to 2010, accounting for 34.6% GDP.

One of the most prominent projects is South East Asia's largest iron ore plant set for location in Thach Khe Commune, Ha Tinh Province that was inaugurated as far back as 2007. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung remarked that the project had the potential to change the fates of thousands poor families.

Other projects such as South East Asia’s biggest wind power plant in Binh Thuan, the Nam Dinh Vu non-tariff zone, industrial park and seaport; the 'Las Vegas of Asia' project in Lang Son and a project to construct the biggest tourist resort in the northern region in Phu Tho Province have all remained moribund. These projects all bring with them the promise of thousands of jobs for poor families and a potential boost for the economy.

But in reality, most of the projects have been delayed.

Lax management leaves people to suffer

The Minister of Investment and Planning in 2010 announced that of a total 34,607 projects, 3,386 remained stagnant.

For example the VND1.7 trillion project to build the Do Luong Cement Plant in Nghe An Province which started in 2007 and was expected to be completed in 2009, remains unfinished despite the local authorities providing VND100 billion to investors.

The Prime Minister also directly asked the investor in an iron and steel complex and Son Duong deepwater Port in 2009 to quickly assign jobs to locals, but the land still remains abandoned, casing difficulties for local people.

These largely abandoned projects show that the authorities haven't strictly monitored key projects.

As a result, investors have just abandoned the projects, not hired locals and brought other workers from abroad to work on site.

For example, in the Chinese-Japanese invested Haiphong Thermal Power Plant project, the highest number of 2,000 Chinese were transported into Vietnam. Many were found without any documentation. In the Cong Thanh Cement Plant was also found to employ 183 Chinese workers without work permits.

Impractical policies

In addition precious little support has been provided to relocated families.

The people that have their land withdrawn for the Thach Khe Iron Works project were supposed to be moved to a resettlement area but nearly 200 households still haven't received any compensation.

In the Son Duong Deepwater Port project, over 1,800 households were relocated.

A number of huge projects that were supposed to bring prosperity have left people without homes or a way to earn money. Meanwhile the projects remain suspended due to a lack of capital, technology or skilled workers.

The government has failed in providing vocational training to former farmers.

The government is being urged to punish irresponsible investors and return fields to the farmers as shown in cases in Long An and Tay Ninh. People also require support to boost incomes and vocational training before investors employ them in new jobs.

Iron and steel complex and Son Duong Deepwater Port