A fertilizer plant in the northern province of Ninh Binh which has a total investment of USD12 trillion (USD667 million) has incurred a loss of VND 2 trillion (USD90 million), forcing it to suspend operations just four years after being put into use.

The Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem) plant is located at Khanh Phu Industrial Park. Starting operations in 2012, the plant was designed to have an annual capacity of 560,000 tonnes of fertilizer. Until now, up to over 50,000 tonnes of fertilizer valued at VND300 billion remains in stock.

Ninh Binh fertilizer plant made a total loss of USD90 million between 2012 and 2015

Since 2012, the plant has made a total loss of USD90 million, including USD3.37 million in the first year, and the figure was estimated at USD34.12 million, USD22.48 million and USD16.63 million in 2015. Over the past month, it has had to halt its operations, which is attributed to higher production costs and slow sales.

The plant’s production lines have also faced regular technical problems, leading to high maintenance costs.

The company has temporarily laid off 400 out of its 1,100 workers, paying them unemployment allowance of VND3.1 million (USD139.37) per person. While the remainder worry they may not return to work.

 The plant is often flooded when it rains heavily

The plant plans to resume operations by the end of this month if half of its inventory can be sold. However, this seems unlikely, given the current market.

Several months ago, the factory was found to have discharged untreated wastewater into the Day River. In October 2012, local authorities discovered the plant was discharging 5,000 cubic metres of untreated water an hour, leading to massive wave of death in fish stock and cattle in the surrounding area.

The plant is often flooded when it rains heavily.