An Indian-invested sugar factory in the south-central Vietnamese province of Binh Dinh has been fined VND1.9 billion (US$93,600) and suspended for 4.5 months for causing serious environmental pollution.

The provincial People’s Committee confirmed on Tuesday it had imposed the penalties upon the Binh Dinh Sugar JSC (BISUCO), located in Tay Giang Commune, Tay Son District.

BISUCO is an Indian- invested firm, whose legal representative is Arunachalam Nandaa Kumar from India.

The VND1.9 billion fine was for the pollution that the company had caused as well as delays in its solution to the problem.

According to Colonel Luong Van Binh, chief of Binh Dinh’s environmental police division, the fine was the highest-ever to have been issued for environment-related violations in the province.

The four and a half month suspension started from June 15, during which the company will have to upgrade its wastewater treatment system and resolve consequences caused by the contamination.

BISUCO was previously caught discharging untreated liquid waste into the local Kon River.

Test results later showed that coliform count in the wastewater was 8,000 times higher than the normal limit.

In addition, other indexes such as temperature, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), and ammonia and sulfur levels, were 1.1 to 2.6 times higher than the normal limits.

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