On March 29, the representative of Ca Mau People’s Procuracy handed out sentences of up to 13 years in prison for three defendants in a case of fraud and appropriation of property that occurred at Cong Ly, the developer of Ca Mau waste treatment plant in the southernmost province of Ca Mau and Bac Lieu wind farm in the province of the same name.

Cong Ly asserts continutation of waste and wind ventures, photo Le Toan

Deputy general director To Cong Ly and his father, general director To Hoai Dan, were given 12-13 years in prison, while employee Nguyen Ba Dam was sentenced to 7-8 years in prison.

An official from the External Economic Division under Bac Lieu Department of Planning and Investment told VIR after the trial, “Bac Lieu wind farm’s operation will not be impacted by this situation because the project is operated by the legal entity Cong Ly Company. The violations that occurred were personal. The board of directors appointed other people to take over the operation of the company as well as the waste treatment plant.”

The Bac Lieu wind farm is known as the first one in Vietnam, built in 2010. It was also the first wind farm in Southeast Asia built on the continental shelf, with 62 turbines on the coast.

Regarding Ca Mau waste treatment plant, representatives of both Bac Lieu Department of Planning and Investment and Bac Lieu Department of Natural Resources and Environment declined to comment on the case. However, it is assumed the plant will still operate normally, as it is currently the only waste treatment plant in the province and the biggest in the Mekong Delta.

In 2020, after the director of the company was prosecuted, the company submitted a request to cease waste treatment activities at the plant. At the time, Ca Mau authorities rejected the proposal because the collection and treatment of household waste is an essential service.

The waste treatment plant opened in 2010 with a capacity of 200 tonnes a day, and a total investment of $15.2 million.

The investor of the waste treatment plant has enjoyed many preferential investment policies. The province supports half of the investment capital, while the company also received bank loans worth nearly $9 million with preferential lending rates in collaboration with other incentives on land and taxes.

However, according to the indictment, during the process to build a treatment plant from 2009, To Cong Ly directed employee Dam to prepare false construction documents for the wastewater treatment system and garbage reception and separation area, worth more than $608,000.

After completing the dossier, Dan requested Ca Mau People’s Committee to consider supporting half of the investment capital. Finally, the province agreed to support half of the capital based on the two false documents at more than $304,000.