A Dutch energy company has made a €150 million deal (£100.6 million) with the Ivory Coast government following a toxic waste leakage in late August last year.
Trafigura, which specialises in the energy and base metals market, insisted that it did not accept liability for the spilling of potentially lethal chemicals from one of its tankers, the Probo Koala, in the port city of Abidjan.
However it said it will fund an "independent environmental audit" in Abidjan and finance the construction of a domestic waste disposal plant and hospital. Much of the money is expected to be spent paying for the extensive clean-up programme and medical treatments required after the spillage.
At least ten people died in the incident and, according to a law firm suing Trafigura, an additional 5,000 people could have been injured, the Reuters news agency reports.
"Both the Ivorian government and Trafigura can now move forward together to act in the best interests of the people of Abidjan," Trafigura director Eric de Turckheim said yesterday.
"We have been working in the country for ten years, making significant investments there for the benefit of the country and its people. We look forward to continuing to work successfully in the country and are committed to working and investing in both the Ivory Coast and Africa as a whole."
He added that three Trafigura employees held in custody by the Ivorian government, Claude Dauphin, Jean-Pierre Valentini and Nzi Kablan, had been released.
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