Vietnam’s coffee giant Trung Nguyen receives ultimatum over sluggish projects

The Dak Lak Province administration has fired shots at Trung Nguyen Group, Vietnam’s top coffee processor, for sluggish progress on a string of tourism projects in the Central Highlands province.

A farmer harvests coffee in Dak Lak, located in Vietnam's Central Highlands.

Trung Nguyen, which runs Vietnam's biggest chain of coffee houses, must speed up progress to finish five tardy projects in order to meet deadlines or risk having their licenses revoked, according to an ultimatum from the provincial administration.

The coffee giant has been licensed to develop five coffee-themed tourism projects, including a guesthouse, a cattle farm, and three ecotourism sites, namely Suoi Xanh, Dray Sap Thuong and Dray Nur Waterfalls, and Cu H’lam Hill.

The tardy developer has already been given new deadlines for each of the projects.

The Suoi Xanh ecotourism, culture, and coffee-themed area in the provincial capital of Buon Ma Thuot was licensed in 2009 and its construction must start by May 19 this year. As part of the deadline, the site must open to visitors four years thereafter.

Construction at the Dray Sap Thuong and Dray Nur waterfalls in Krong Ana District must be completed by the end of September next year.

The ultimatum also calls for the cattle farm and ecotourism area in M’Drak District and the Trung Nguyen guesthouse in Buon Ma Thuot to both break ground by the end of September 2016 and be put into use two years thereafter.

The announcement however does not give a deadline for the ecotourism site on Cu H’lam Hill in Cu M’gar District.

Dak Lak administration assured that if Trung Nguyen Group fails to meet the deadlines, it will lose the investment licenses for all of these projects.

Founded in 1996, Trung Nguyen Group distributes coffee to the UK, the U.S., Russia, Japan, South Korea, and other Southeast Asian countries, it said on its website.

The company said it had exported to 60 countries and boasted more than 13.2 billion cups of Trung Nguyen consumed across the globe as of 2013.

Khoa Le

Source: Tuoi Tre News