PX projects seek way out in China

English>>Business

Editor's Pick

(People's Daily Online) 10:34, August 06, 2013

Email|Print|Comments

twitter

facebook

Sina Microblog

People gather in the center of Kunming to oppose the construction of a petrochemical plant by the China National Petroleum Corporation in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on May 4, 2013. (Global Times.cn)

PX (paraxylene) projects have been trapped in a difficult situation in China. The residents in Dalian, Ningbo, Pengzhou, Kunming have protested successively against the local PX project plans. What are the reasons that PX projects face difficult situation in China?

What are the concerns of the different parties in PX project?

In 2012, thousands of people in east China's Ningbo protested the construction of a PX plant over health concerns. The mass protest started at the first local villagers of Zhenhai district of Ningbo expressed their concerns about the pollution and asked the government to relocate the village.

Ma Youfu, 76, a villager of Nanhong village said that at first villagers didn’t focus on the PX project, but the fact that Hongcun village hadn’t been included in the overall relocation plan. Things changed since the government of Zhenhai District released the planned expansion project of refined oil.

Zhenhai is the important chemical industry base in Zhejiang province. Local villagers paid high attentions to the environmentally risky projects in their areas. Wu Jiafen, a local resident said: “Zhenhai was beautiful and clean, now it’s surrounded by industrial zones. Even the air has an unpleasant smell.”

In the end of May 2013, local residents of Zhenhai district of Ningbo received the communication documents of PX projects. Song, an owner of flower shop said: “I know now that PX contains low toxicity which couldn’t damage the people’s health. However, no one can ensure the company will strictly fulfill the most stringent discharge standards.”

The residents are not the only group that is anxious about the PX project. A local official also said that the government was under the pressure from all parties and worried also that the project became a huge burden.

【1】【2】【3】