Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) and the management board of the Lam Dong bauxite-alumina complex to increase measures to ensure the safe operation of the alumina plant.

The Deputy PM made the request during his February 11 working visit to the complex, also called the Rai Tan bauxite project, in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2014.

He stressed the necessity of safety measures for the areas of red sludge and camera supervision to promptly discover problems during the operation.

Hai also required the project management board to enhance the monitoring of environmental solutions, prepare plans for red mud treatment and urgently fix shortcomings and weaknesses of the operation system, thus ensuring a safe environment for local people.

According to the board, the project’s realised investment reached 14.9 trillion VND (700 million USD), accounting for 98 percent of the total initial investment.

The project has so far produced 265,000 tonnes of alumina and 436,000 tonnes of hydrate. Of which, it sold 236,000 tonnes of alumina to domestic and international markets, including 160,000 tonnes shipped to Switzerland, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong (China) last year.

Vinacomin has also signed long-term contracts with Japan ’s Marubeni company and China ’s Yunnan Aluminium company to export 300,000 tonnes and 150,000 tonnes of alumina respectively per year from the Tan Rai plant.

Since the beginning of 2014, the complex has exported more than 60,000 tonnes of alumina to Singaporean and Hong Kong partners.

It expects to produce 540,000 tonnes of alumina and over 800,000 tonnes of hydrate this year.-VNA