Chinese Investor Halts Construction of Vietnam Solar Panel Plant

The local government of Bac Giang has admitted to having allowed JA Solar to kick off the construction of the solar panel plant without due permits.

JA Solar Investment (Hong Kong) Limited has suspended the construction of a solar panel factory in Vietnam’s northern province of Bac Giang after government agencies said it began without proper permits.

The Chinese firm broke ground of the plant on November 27, 2016, one month before the government issued an investment license for the project that has a cost of $280 million.

In addition, the construction was initiated before the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment completed the review of the firm’s environmental impact assessment. The review is slated for completion in May 2017.

At a press meeting last weekend, Nguyen Anh Quyen, director of Bac Giang's Management Board of Industrial Parks, said that JA Solar had selected the ground-breaking date based on a belief that November 27 was a lucky day.

Quyen admitted to having approved the company's actions. However, he argued that the improper licensing of JA Solar’s project was aimed to facilitate and attract investors in a time of many large-scale projects licensed in other provinces.

With the project, JA Solar plans to produce solar panels that have an annual capacity of 1,500 megawatts. The construction is poised to be completed in 18 months on an area of 20 hectares.

Established in 2005, the Chinese firm now operates eight solar power product factories in Europe, the U.S. and Japan. Its annual revenue is reported at $2.15 billion.

Tuan Minh / BizLIVE