Yet another megaproject has been found to have caused multimillion losses, adding to the list of 12 other loss-making projects under one same management of Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The ministry-run Potassium Mining Project in Laos has been ceased, after incurring a total loss of VND16,126 billion (US$700 million), Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thanh Hai admitted at a meeting on Friday.

The potassium mining project in Laos began in 2015 with the main developer being the country’s state-run chemicals giant Vinachem, which is managed by the trade ministry.

The plant, with a planned capacity of approximately 320,000 metric tons a year, was expected to be built in five years with a total mining area of ten square kilometers.

The project received an investment budget of $522 million, with Vinachem covering $105 million of the sum.

This is a pivotal project for Vietnam, aiming to supply the country with its own mined potassium instead of wholly relying on imported chemical at the moment.

Vinachem is also the operator of four other loss-stricken projects, including the Ninh Binh urea fertilizer, the Ha Bac urea fertilizer plant, the Lao Cai diamonium phosphate (DAP) plant, and Dinh Vu DAP plant.

While the parent company and its 20 subsidiaries posted profit of VND2,162 billion ($95 million) last year, these loss-makers have cost Vinachem VND2,115 billion ($92.8 million), sending the final earnings to a meager VND47 billion ($2.2 million).

Vinachem reportedly raked in revenue of VND44,971 billion ($2 billion) in 2017, a slight increase of five percent over the previous year.

Following these huge losses, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a restructuring plan, proposed by the deputy trade minister for the 2017-20 period, with various changes regarding the corporation’s management and finance.

The list of 12 loss-making megaprojects managed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been submitted to the country’s Politburo, the all-powerful policymaking body of the Communist Party of Vietnam, awaiting further investigation and resolution.

The list of 12 loss-making projects under the Ministry of Industry and Trade

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