Deputy PM inspects compensation for environmental incident in Ha Tinh province

NDO—Politburo member and Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh held a meeting with fishermen in Ha Tinh province’s Loc Ha district on October 31 concerning the work of providing compensation and support to those affected by the recent maritime environmental incident in Vietnam’s central region.

Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh visits an aquatic farming pond of a household in Ho Do commune, Loc Ha district.  Photo: VGP
Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh visits an aquatic farming pond of a household in Ho Do commune, Loc Ha district. Photo: VGP

>>> Deputy PM meets with fishermen affected by maritime environmental incident

As reported by the district People’s Committee, the maritime environmental pollution caused by Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Co., Ltd., adversely affected the lives of nearly 6,000 households totalling over 20,100 people in Loc Ha, while damaging aquatic farming, exploitation and processing activities, fisheries services and maritime tourism in the locale.

The local authorities have reviewed the damages and agreed to recommend compensation worth over VND92 billion (US$4.14 million). So far, the provincial authorities have provided the district with more than VND19 billion (US$855,000) as compensation payments for the first phase.

At the meeting, Deputy Chairman of the Loc Ha People’s Committee Phan Van Nhan suggested supplementing a number of subjects to the list of compensation and support recipients, including institutions purchasing, stockpiling and trading salt; fishing net producers; ice traders and coastline restaurants and seafood traders with seafood inventories in their freezers.

Deputy PM Binh expressed his deep sympathy for local fishermen suffering due to the recent accident.

He emphasised that shortly after the incident, the Government had directed relevant ministries and agencies to actively clarify the causes and perpetrators of the incident, forcing Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh to acknowledge and apologise for its wrongdoing; to provide compensation for the damage it had caused; and to pledge to conduct its future operations in a proper manner. The maritime environment had again become safe for aquaculture and tourism activities, he noted.

The deputy PM requested that compensation and support procedures be implemented accurately, publicly and transparently with the participation of affected households for the common goal of completing all compensation and support work soon and stablilising people’s lives.

He affirmed that the operation of the Formosa company would be closely supervised both by centrally authorised bodies and local administrations, along with the participation of the people, aiming to discover and strictly punish violations in a timely manner.

Earlier the same day, Deputy PM Binh paid a field trip to a number of aquatic farming institutions and frozen seafood traders in the communes of Ho Do and Thach Bang, in order to grasp the situation of Loc Ha households engaged in aquatic cultivation and trading.