Nguyen Thanh Son, former head of the Red River Delta Coal Project Management Unit, has said the Formosa Group should not be allowed to operate for 70 years in Vietnam as they would not have a major economic impact and had already caused major pollution.

The Formosa steel project already causes major pollution

Provincial authorities licenced the Formosa steel project at Vung Ang Economic Zone for 70 years, instead of 50 years as regulated in the country’s Law on Investment.

Nguyen Thanh Son, former head of the Red River Delta Coal Project Management Unit under Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin), said Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group, mother company of Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Co. in central Vietnam, had never shown that it had capability or experience in the steel industry before establishing the company in Vietnam. He wondered why Formosa decided to invest in steel company considering the industry was declining globally.

Nguyen Thanh Son, former head of the Red River Delta Coal Project Management Unit

He went on to say that amid such a climate, Formosa chose to cut environmental protection measures to save finances and limit losses to ensure the steel plant’s operation. He suggested that Formosa had removed the polluting steel industry from Taiwan. Thanks to lax management, Formosa had imported cheap coal to convert into coke.

"This project is a major polluter and not one that would benefit Ha Tinh Province," he said. "That's why it should not be allowed to run here for 70 years."

Technology to convert coal into coke leaves behind huge amounts of toxic waste. Only irresponsible officials could claim not be aware of the dangerous consequences to the environment nature from such a project, he said.

Son said, "In fact, lots of countries are trying to move metallurgical projects to other countries because of expensive waste treatment and low economic benefits. Despite being a large-scale project, the plant has limited effect on other economic sectors. The government should reconsider its scale and reduce the licensed time to 25-30 years."