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(Plastemart) -- The Control
Yuan has found the selected Chaunghua County site unsuitable for a petrochemical
complex in view of land subsidence problems in the area. The report states that
the available surface water resources in Chaunghua and Yunlin counties of 380
KT/day are not sufficient. Water-intensive industries such as the Kuokuang
Petrochemical Technology Co project, which needs 400 KT/day of water, should not
be introduced to the region. One problem that could arise from the Kuokuang
project is that more groundwater would have to be pumped to maintain a stable
water supply during shortages, which would compromise the effectiveness of
measures to improve land subsidence problems. The report said the highest rate
of subsidence in Chaunghua County had been observed in Dacheng Township, where
the nation’s second-largest wetland was proposed as the location for the
Kuokuang project. The subsidence rate there was 6.9 cm per year in 2006 and 1.6
cm per year in 2009.
The USD 20.34 bln project was initiated by Kuokuang Petrochemical
Technology Co., an affiliate of the state-run oil refiner CPC Corp., Taiwan, to
expand oil refining capacity and the production of ethylene. Critics said the
plan to build the complex in the Dacheng Wetlands in central Taiwan would create
losses that outweigh the benefits. The disadvantages include damage to local
oyster and eel- farming industries, and health hazards to local residents.
mrcplast.com
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