THACO proposes $4.4bn bauxite-alumina projects in Vietnam’s Lam Dong

The department said that THACO had submitted documents for or was studying 10 projects, including a group of large-scale mineral projects notable for their investment capital and land area.

However, the department noted that none of these projects have received approval.

Among the proposed projects, the centerpiece is the THACO alumina plant complex, also known as the Lam Dong 2 alumina plant.

The project is planned on an area of nearly 804 hectares with a designed capacity of two million metric tonnes of alumina per year.

Total investment is estimated at VND49.661 trillion (US$1.9 billion), and the project would have an operational term of 50 years.

If approved in 2026, THACO plans to begin operating the plant by 2030 with an initial capacity of one million metric tonnes of alumina annually before gradually increasing its output to two million metric tonnes per year, depending on actual conditions.

If implemented, the project would form the largest bauxite mining cluster among those projects currently operating in Lam Dong.

According to the Department of Finance, however, there are still obstacles related to land issues, forestry planning, land-use planning, and overlaps with areas already allocated to other approved projects.

As a result, local authorities said there were not yet sufficient grounds to consider investment policy approval and requested THACO to revise and complete the application dossiers.

THACO has also proposed a bauxite mining project covering around 15,155 hectares, with total investment estimated at VND67.073 trillion ($2.5 billion).

The firm expects to extract 12 million metric tonnes of raw ore annually from mines linked to the Loc Tan–Loc Quang and Bao Lam areas.

However, the required documentation for the proposal has also yet to be completed.

In addition, THACO is studying investment plans for the Song Luy Industrial Park to develop a deep mineral processing complex, including aluminum-alumina, titanium, chemical, and supporting industries across an estimated area of 720 hectares.

The proposed complex would include titanium processing facilities, chemical plants serving deep mineral processing, an aluminum electrolysis plant, and a thermal power plant.

Gia Huynh 3 and Gia Huynh 4 industrial parks are also planned to support downstream aluminum production, titanium-based products, new materials, and railway mechanical engineering industries.