Polluter Vedan signs compensation deals with HCMC, BR-VT
By Anh Quan - The Saigon Times Daily
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| Representatives of Vedan and farmers sign the compensation agreement last Friday, almost two years after the company was found to charge untreated wastewater into the Thi Vai River - Photo: Anh Quan |
HCMC – Vedan Vietnam last Friday signed agreements with representatives of HCMC’s Can Gio District and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province to pay pollution compensation for local farmers.
The affected farmers will receive 50% of the compensation sums seven days after the signing.
In HCMC, it took around three hours to agree on terms and conditions in the agreement. Farmers in Can Gio District will get about VND22.8 billion in the initial phase and the remainder from the Taiwanese MSG producer before January 14 next year.
The company will open a letter of credit at the Bangkok Bank in HCMC to guarantee the second payout. Vedan also agreed to pay VND500 million in investigation fees and expenses on damage calculations for Can Gio District.
Lawyer Nguyen Van Hau told reporters that the district’s Farmers’ Union would field suggestions from residents for payment and announce compensation sums for the families.
On the same day, lawyer Nguyen Thanh Ngoc from Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province signed an agreement on VND53.6 billion compensation for farmers affected by Vedan’s causing pollution in the Thi Vai River.
Vedan also proposed the same two-phase payment method, guaranty bank and VND500 million for damage calculations.
It has yet to strike any deal with Dong Nai Province which suffered most from the pollution, with damages put at nearly VND120 billion.