The Ministry of Finance has transferred VND3 trillion (US$134 million) to four coastal central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue where fish died en mass due to environmental pollution in April.


The Ministry of Finance has transferred VND3 trillion (US$134 million) to four coastal central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue where fish died en mass due to environmental pollution in April. 


The money, part of the US$500-million compensation paid by Taiwanese Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation – the company responsible for the mass fish deaths, will be used to compensate thousands of fishermen whose lives were affected by the incident.

The news was released by Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Huu Chi at a Tuesday press conference in Ha Noi.

Chi said the money allocated to Quang Binh was VND1.1 trillion ($49.3 million), Ha Tinh VND1 trillion ($44.8 million), Quang Tri VND500 billion ($22.4 million) and Thua Thien Hue VND400 billion ($17.9 million).

To ensure transparency in the compensation process, the ministry asked the four localities to open one banking account each to receive the money from the ministry, said Dao Xuan Te, deputy head of the ministry's State Budget Department.

The ministry also issued detailed instructions on how to compensate people in each locality, he said.

According to the ministry, compensation for the affected people would be paid in cash or transferred by bank payments. Each provincial administration was ordered to make a list of people receiving compensation with their signatures to report to the ministry.

The ministry directed all People's Committee at commune level to publish the list of recipients and how much they would get at least three days before the compensation process is underway.

In late September, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved a decision to list seven groups of victims working in affected sectors in the four provinces. The sectors include seafood harvesting, aquatic breeding, salt production, coastal seafood business activities, fishing logistics, coastal tourism services and seafood stockpiling and purchase.

Compensation ranges from VND3.69 million ($165) and VND37.48 million ($1,680) per person each month depending on damage.

In another development, a team from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development lead by Nguyen Ngoc Oai – deputy head of the Directorate of Fisheries went to Ha Tinh on Tuesday to check on how the locality has helped locals in resuming production and stabilising their lives. 

VNS