According to a report in the Dau tu (Viet Nam Investment Review) newspaper, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai exempted the company from import taxes on a number of machines and equipment to create fixed assets for the giant steel and port project in the central province of Ha Tinh. Besides, the project is also exempted from natural-resources tax on sand to level the project's surface.

The move was made following a proposal from the project's investor – the Taiwan's Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company, a subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Group – late last year. After scrutiny, authorities said some machines, equipment and construction materials imported to build the project were not produced or manufactured in the country. Therefore, these goods would also be exempt from import tax in accordance with the current regulations.

Besides, the Government also agreed to exempt import taxes on the project's heat-resistant bricks and electric cable lines, even though the materials are produced in the country. The materials had to be imported to fit with the project's initial designs.

The project has registered investment capital of nearly US$10 billion. It is expected to begin operations in 2015.

Local authorities expected that the complex, with an annual output of 7.5 million tonnes, would create 10,000 local jobs in the first phase, with the figure to grow to 30,000 upon completion of the second phase. —VNS