World media concerned about the culprit causing mass fish deaths in Vietnam

International news agencies quickly reported that the steel plant belonging to the Taiwanese company Formosa was identified as the culprit causing the mass fish deaths in central Vietnam two months ago.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha at a press conference this afternoon. Photo: BBC.

Reuters saidFormosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation, which operates one of the largest investment projects in Vietnam, on June 28 accepted responsibility for causing large-scale fish deaths in central coastal provinces.

The $10.6 billion plant is a unit of Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group and has been dumping toxic chemicals into the ocean.

"This company offered to compensate 500 millionUSD," the British news agency quoted Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung as saying at a press conference.

Headline: "Formosa Plastics Group fined $500 million for toxic waste discharge in Vietnam"yeahNikkei Asian Reviewsaid this is considered "the largest fine ever imposed on a company in Vietnam".

The business newspaper said that the Formosa steel company in Ha Tinh was originally scheduled to start operations at the end of June, but that plan will now be suspended until environmental protection measures are implemented.

An old man picks up dead fish on Phu Loc beach, Thua Thien Hue, in April. Photo: AFP

Citing the investigation results announced by Vietnam's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment this afternoon, the newspaper said that the toxic wastewater originated from the factory's underground pipes and spread to the sea off Ha Tinh, killing a large number of fish.

Along with the compensation, Formosa also offered solutions such as moving the pipelines to the surface for easier inspection. The Vietnamese government would then monitor the pipelines and decide when the plant could begin operating.

According to VNE