The Saigon M&C Real Estate JSC has said it would compensate households affected by the collapse of two houses in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 last weekend.

The site where two houses collapsed and several others suffered serious damage has been cordoned off for investigation. (Photo: Tien Phong)

Bui Quang Thang, deputy general director of the company, made the pledge at a meeting with representatives of the affected households and authorities of the district’s Nguyen Thai Binh Ward on February 4.

The company will resolve all problems related to the collapse and pay damages to those affected by the collapse of two houses at 3-5 Ham Nghi Street on January 31, which also damaged nine houses nearby, Thang said.

The collapse was blamed on the unsafe construction of the company’s M&C building, located next to the houses affected. Construction of the building has been suspended after the incident. 

Investigators discovered gaps in the building’s diaphragm walls through which underground water flowed into the basement, causing soil subsidence, which damaged the foundations of the surrounding houses.

Shortly after the incident, the company rented hotels rooms and houses as temporary accommodation or business spaces for local residents who had to evacuate their damaged houses for safety reasons, he said.

He said his company has also paid each affected resident VND200,000 per day as temporary compensation while waiting for the house repairs to be completed.

The residents have asked the company to announce its compensation plan soon.

Deputy chairman of Nguyen Thai Binh Ward People’s Committee, Le Minh Phat, also asked the company to submit its compensation plan to the authorities of the ward, District 1, and the city at the earliest.

Another meeting will be held on February 8 between the local authorities, the company and affected households to select an independent auditing company to assess the damage as a basis to calculate compensation, he said.

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