VietNamNet Bridge – The Chinese partner in the Nhan Co Aluminum Company is preparing a request to employ 2000 Chinese workers at the bauxite mining site in Dak Nong Province.

Chinese workers at the Tan Rai bauxite mining site.

Unskilled foreign workers flow into Vietnam

Unskilled foreign workers not permitted to work in Vietnam

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Before the end of the month, the Nhan Co Alumina JS Company will submit its environmental assessment report on a proposed bauxite mining and alumina refining project to the Dak Nong Province Peoples Council for its review.

The company is also preparing to start construction of a 650,000 tonne/year alumina refinery, at a cost of VND12.5 trillion ($735.2 million) in Nhan Co commune, Dak RLap district, Dak Nong.

Nhan Co General Director Bui Quang Tien said that Chalco is hastening research on Vietnamese laws on foreign workers in order to bring Chinese workers to the central highlands province.

Tien said that during important phases of construction, there may be up to 2,000 Chinese workers at Nhan Co.

Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding between the partners, the only foreign workers that Nhan Co Alumina JS Company will employ will be highly skilled specialists. They will stay in a 2ha area near the construction site, according to the MOU.

The Nhan Co Company and the Dak Nong provincial police are working together on the draft of a letter to Chalco explaining Vietnamese laws on employment of foreign workers and the necessary conditions for maintaining public security and order in Dak Nong.

At the Tan Rai bauxite mining project in adjacent Lam Dong province, which has already been launched, there are 500 Chinese workers. Among that number, many are simple laborers who entered Vietnam on tourist visas, said a vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

Environmental impact assessment by Nhan Co joint venture called unconvincing

At a scientific seminar on the bauxite mining projects in the Central Highlands on April 9, the central government, responding to criticism by scientists, promised to re-examine the projected economic gains from these ventures and adjust the bauxite industry development plan. It has been waiting for the submission of a supplementary report on environment impacts of the Nhan Co project.

On April 16, the Dak Nong provincial authorities considered the assessment of the projected environmental impact of the Nhan Co alumina refinery. The plant has a designed capacity of 650,000 tonnes yearly and may be expanded to 1.2 million tones. In view of the concerns expressed by scientists regarding bauxite exploitation in the central highlands, the report did not contain enough solid information to persuade the local authorities of the project’s environmental safety.

At the seminar on April 9, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai stated that alumina projects that have annual capacity of 1-2 million tones will be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration.

VietNamNet/VOV

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