Paper plant to make the mountainous north home

The project is big news in a province that is struggled to attract investors

The project is developed by Northern Paper Joint Stock Company and will be located in Minh Quan Industrial Park near the Red River.

The company planned to invest VND300 billion ($15 million) in the first phase of the project, which is capable to produce 20,000 tonnes of pulp per annum. It is projected to become commissioned in April, 2012.

In the second phase developed until 2015, VND732 billion ($36.6 million) will be pumped in to produce some 30,000 tonnes of pulp per year.

According to an official from Yen Bai Planning and Investment Department’s Business Registration and Enterprise Reform Division, the investor received an investment licence for the Yen Bai pulp mill project in 2008, which had its original designed capacity of 20,000 tonnes of pulp a year.

“In early October 2010, the investor was allowed to raise the plant’s capacity by 2.5-fold,” the official said.

The Yen Bai official said it was not clear if the plant would build its own waste treatment system or have its waste treated through the Minh Quan Industrial Park’s system, which was also under construction.

The industrial park will be added to Yen Bai’s list of industrial parks prioritised for establishment and expansion until 2015.

The park is building road, power, water and wastewater treatment infrastructure. It is reported to have two investors, with a fertiliser plant invested by Mosan company.

Yen Bai has more than 11 paper plants, with the majority of them are manufacturing a traditional kind of paper (giay de) for votive paper production.

In April 2010, Yen Bai authorities temporarily ceased operation of Yen Binh paper plant invested by Yen Bai Joint Stock Company because of serious environmental pollution.