A Taiwanese cement company in the northern Vietnamese city of Hai Phong has blocked a local street with barricades and rocks, impeding traffic and the daily activities of residents and businesses.

The People’s Committee in Thuy Nguyen District, Hai Phong confirmed on Tuesday that they had received reports of a barricade set up by Taiwanese firm Chinfon Cement Corporation and No.9 Hai Phong Construction JSC, a contractor to Chinfon.

The blockade was placed on the only road leading to Than Vi Mountain, where Toan Thang Waste Treatment Company along with several other local businesses and residences are situated.

According to the observation of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday morning, some 10 garbage trucks of the Toan Thang firm were unable to enter the company.

A large group of workers and local residents expressed their objection to the barricade.

Some citizens said that they had been prevented from traveling on the street since Monday morning.

Luu Van Bao, Director of Toan Thang Company, said that the two firms had been blocking the street without reason.

They placed fences and large rocks across the road, Bao explained.

A probe by Tuoi Tre revealed that the blockade was set up to prevent people from entering the mountain where Chinfon intended to use explosives to exploit the nearby rock formations.

Bui Van Hien, vice-chairman of the People’s Committee in Minh Duc Town, Thuy Nguyen District, considered the company’s action inappropriate.

The Taiwanese firm previously promised to build a new road into the area but has yet to fulfill that commitment, Hien continued.

Local authorities are “encouraging” the company to remove the barriers, the official said.

Police officers had managed to take out the fences on Tuesday but were unable to remove the large rocks.

Tuoi Tre journalists could not contact leaders of the Chinfon Cement Corporation on the same day.