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Officials promote chem plant
Source: Xinhua |
January 15, 2009, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
OFFICIALS in the southeastern Chinese city of Zhangzhou have launched a public education campaign on the effects of a proposed petrochemical plant that was stopped in a neighboring city after fierce opposition over potential pollution and health problems.
The controversial paraxylene, or PX, plant, originally planned for Xiamen, Fujian Province, is to be located on the Gulei peninsula, which has a population of 135,000 and falls under Zhangzhou, also in Fujian.
"The PX plant has passed an environmental impact assessment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and we are working to inform the local people about it," said He Shaohua, an official with Zhangzhou city government.
He was the first in Zhangzhou to speak about the planned plant after the ministry posted a statement on its Website on Monday saying Zhangzhou will be the new site.
Bulletin boards have been erected in some residential areas to give villagers basic knowledge about PX, an intermediate chemical that is used to make coatings and plastics. Land acquisition for the plant and compensation for farmers is under way, He said.
The 13.78-billion-yuan (US$2 billion) project by Tenglong Aromatic PX (Xiamen) Co Ltd is expected to produce 800,000 tons of paraxylene and generate an annual revenue of 80 billion yuan. The project will spend 830 million on addressing pollution concerns.
The ministry also approved another massive factory in the city that could use PX to produce 1.5 million tons of purified terephthalic acid, or PTA, which is commonly used in polyester coatings and resins.
The PTA plant, which is said to be environmentally friendly, will involve 4.96 billion yuan in investment.
The PX plant provoked heated protest by residents in Xiamen in May 2007. They argued it would be detrimental to the environment and public health.
After a series of public hearings and debates, construction in the densely populated coastal city was put on hold in June 2007.
"The plant's environmental impact is within a controllable range," He said.
"There are plenty of PX plants both at home and abroad, which fully demonstrate the effect on the environment."
The controversial paraxylene, or PX, plant, originally planned for Xiamen, Fujian Province, is to be located on the Gulei peninsula, which has a population of 135,000 and falls under Zhangzhou, also in Fujian.
"The PX plant has passed an environmental impact assessment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and we are working to inform the local people about it," said He Shaohua, an official with Zhangzhou city government.
He was the first in Zhangzhou to speak about the planned plant after the ministry posted a statement on its Website on Monday saying Zhangzhou will be the new site.
Bulletin boards have been erected in some residential areas to give villagers basic knowledge about PX, an intermediate chemical that is used to make coatings and plastics. Land acquisition for the plant and compensation for farmers is under way, He said.
The 13.78-billion-yuan (US$2 billion) project by Tenglong Aromatic PX (Xiamen) Co Ltd is expected to produce 800,000 tons of paraxylene and generate an annual revenue of 80 billion yuan. The project will spend 830 million on addressing pollution concerns.
The ministry also approved another massive factory in the city that could use PX to produce 1.5 million tons of purified terephthalic acid, or PTA, which is commonly used in polyester coatings and resins.
The PTA plant, which is said to be environmentally friendly, will involve 4.96 billion yuan in investment.
The PX plant provoked heated protest by residents in Xiamen in May 2007. They argued it would be detrimental to the environment and public health.
After a series of public hearings and debates, construction in the densely populated coastal city was put on hold in June 2007.
"The plant's environmental impact is within a controllable range," He said.
"There are plenty of PX plants both at home and abroad, which fully demonstrate the effect on the environment."
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