Mexico president wants 'definitive' closure of Vulcan facilities (updated)

Vulcan Materials Co

16/07/2024 17:02

(Adds quote and context)
       MEXICO CITY, July 16 (Reuters) - Mexican President
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday that he wants the
closure of U.S. construction company Vulcan Materials'  VMC.N 
facilities in the country to be "definitive."    
        The company has been engaged in a years-long conflict
with Mexico's government after officials ordered a halt to
limestone quarrying at Vulcan's mining unit in the coastal state
of Quintana Roo in 2022, alleging environmental damages by the
company.
  
        "We're going to resolve it legally. There's a closure,
yes, but I want there to be a definitive closure because the
damage that they have caused is great," Lopez Obrador said in a
regular news conference on Tuesday. 
  
        Vulcan has denied the accusations of environmental
damages and has claimed that Mexico has illegally expropriated
its investments in Mexico. The firm did not immediately respond
to a request for comment on Tuesday.
  
        The president in May said that the site had not been
expropriated, only closed, and that it would remain closed at
least until he leaves office in October. 
  

 (Reporting by Raul Cortes; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing
by Kylie Madry)
 ((Brendan.OBoyle@thomsonreuters.com;))