Kuwaiti chemical plant not to be built in Guangdong: Official

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-31 14:50

Plans to build a controversial Kuwaiti oil and chemical project in Nansha, in Guangdong Province, have been shelved as a result of strong local opposition and environmental concerns, a leading Guangdong Party official confirmed Thursday, the Chinese News Service reported.

Wang Yang, the Party Secretary of Guangdong Province, said the decision showed that the government paid full attention to people’s concerns, and is working to help Guangdong deal with the serious environmental problems it faces, including like acid rain. He also emphasized that Guangdong welcomed investment by qualified foreign enterprises.

Wang said the Kuwaiti factory will be built somewhere else instead, but did not reveal its location.

Regardless of its location, the factory will be the largest oil processing and chemical project in China. It will cost more than $8 billion to build and have a designed annual production capacity of 15 million tons.