The handling of 12 loss-making projects under the Ministry of Industry and Trade has seen improvements with some starting to earn profits or recovering production after dozens of years in stagnation, according to the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC).

Five projects handed over to Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) and Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem) for handling saw positive changes.

One of them, diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer plant No 1 managed to maintain stable operation with aggregated loss wiped out from January 2022 and started to earn profit. DAP 1 earned an after-tax profit of more than VND354.1 billion in 2022, an impressive rise of 83.6 per cent over its annual plan and 85.5 per cent against the same period last year.

The Dinh Vu Polyester Fibre Plant, after a prolonged suspension of operations, now put 27 production lines into operation and earned revenue which could make up for the variable cost. The plant earned revenue of VND219 billion in 2022, or 100 per cent of the adjusted plan.

CMSC’s Chairman Nguyen Hoang Anh said some projects started to earn profits while some managed to lower their aggregated loss. The resumption of operation helped provide jobs for thousands of workers and contributed to maintaining political-social stability.

The handling of three biofuel plants carried out by PVN was following the approved plans, CMSC said.

For three fertilizer projects, including Ninh Binh Fertiliser plant, expansion project of Ha Bac Nitrogen Fertilisers Plant and DAP Fertiliser Plant No 2 – Lao Cai, the debt restructuring measures for these three projects got agreements from the competent authorities.

Ha Bac reported a profit of more than VND1.799 trillion in 2022, up VND1.773 trillion against 2021. Ninh Binh earned a revenue of more than VND6 trillion, equivalent to 135 per cent of the plan for 2022 and 148 per cent of the result in 2021. Notably, the plant earned a profit of VND928 billion last year. DAP No 2 – Lao Cai reported a profit of VND1.5 billion in 2022.

“I believe these results are very positive,” Hoang Anh said.

Opportunities for the three most difficult projects

There were opportunities for reviving the three most difficult projects, including the phase 2 expansion project of Thai Nguyen Steel Plant - Tisco 2, Viet Trung Steel Plant (VTM) and Dung Quat Shipyard (DQS), Hoang Anh said.

He added that CMSC worked with relevant agencies and organisations on solutions to thoroughly handle problems at these projects.

Regarding Tisco 2, Tisco and Chinese contractor China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) signed a document about handling orientations for the project, a very important step after seven years of negotiation without any results.

It was expected that MCC would have a report on the handling measure for Tisco by the end of May.

For DQS, CMSC asked PVN to urgently develop a restructuring plan based on the actual condition and operation capacity.

CMSC also asked the State Capital Investment Corporation and Viet Nam Steel Corporation to work with relevant parties on solutions to recover operations at VTM.

The 12 loss-making projects under the Ministry of Industry and Trade included four fertilizer, three bio-fuel, two steel, one polyester fiber and one pulp production plant and a shipyard. — VNS