Paying VND 1,680 billion in advance for environmental incident compensation

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has asked the Ministry of Finance to make an advance payment of VND 1.68 trillion (over US$74 million) to compensate local residents in four central coastal provinces for their losses caused by the maritime environment incident which occurred last year.

Illustrative image.
Illustrative image.

The four effected localities, namely Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue, will receive VND 560 billion, VND 760 billion, VND 160 billion and VND 200 billion, respectively. This is the second round of compensation for the affected people.

The compensation payments are sourced from the Taiwanese firm Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Co. Ltd, whose wastewater caused mass fish deaths along the coast of the four provinces, affecting the lives of over 260,000 fishermen and seafood traders.

Formosa agreed to pay damages of US$500 million to help local fishermen switch to other jobs and recover the polluted maritime environment. The company also vowed to deal with shortcomings in its waste and wastewater treatment.

Deputy PM Binh requested the Ministry of Finance to promptly transfer the money to the localities while asking the provincial authorities to ensure proper allocation of the funds.