A 6-billion-yuan (US$909 million) Baguang Fine Chemical Industrial Park has been abandoned, ending a 10-year debate over pollution in the eastern coastal area in Shenzhen.
The project will be replaced by an industrial base for newly emerging industries such as new material, new energy, biomedicine and logistics, according to a draft plan for the city s economic and social development submitted to lawmakers for approval at the ongoing annual session of the city legislature.
The chemical project, which covers 11.4 square kilometers at the border of Shenzhen and Huizhou in the northeast of Dapeng Peninsula, has been controversial since it was suggested in 2002.
The original plan was to develop industries such as LNG (liquefied natural gas), new materials and chemicals. Upon completion, it was expected to yield 120 billion yuan in production volume, equivalent to that of Longgang District, where Baguang is.
Although the project had been questioned by the general public, it was approved by city and provincial governments in Baguang, home of China s oldest mangrove trees. Baguang Village was relocated in 2008 for the project.
One major reason given for the cancellation of the project was that construction didn t go as smoothly as planned because of relocations, land requisitions and compensation issues.
The enterprises, which planned to move in, didn t show up as scheduled, according to an official of the city s land resources commission, who refused to be named.
The government decided on a chemical park in Baguang because it was adjacent to the Huizhou Petrochemical Industrial Zone and could form an industrial belt in the Daya Bay area, according to the original plan.
(By Han Ximin)
