Ministry of Ecology and Environment: Outdated chemical production capacity within one kilometer along the Yangtze River has been largely phased out

Thread Content

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 30 (Reporter Gao Jing) Zhang Bo, Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and Director of the Department of Water Ecology and Environment, said on March 30 that rectifying chemical industrial parks is an important task in the efforts to protect and restore the Yangtze River. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment is actively cooperating with relevant departments in this regard, and backward chemical production capacity within one kilometer along the river has been largely phased out. He provided this information at a press conference held by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on the same day. Zhang Bo said that there are many chemical enterprises in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and rectifying these chemical parks is an important task in the efforts to protect and restore the Yangtze River. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment guides local authorities to enforce strict environmental impact assessment requirements, prohibiting the construction or expansion of chemical industrial parks and chemical projects within one kilometer of the main streams and tributaries of the Yangtze River, thereby controlling issues at their source. At the same time, efforts are being made to urge existing chemical enterprises along the river to carry out measures of relocation, renovation, or closure. By the end of last year, 79% of the enterprises included in these plans had completed the necessary reforms; as a result, the outdated chemical production facilities within one kilometer of the riverbank have been largely phased out. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has also guided seven provinces in formulating management measures for the identification of chemical industrial parks, thereby further standardizing the development and construction of such parks. Zhang Bo said that although initial efforts to rectify the chemical parks along the river have yielded some results, it is a daunting task to complete all the tasks of relocation, renovation, and closure. The next step is to overcome difficulties and continue advancing the improvement of the chemical industrial park. He also suggested that for important rivers and lakes, ecological buffer zones should be established as early as possible in various regions; once established, these zones must be strictly protected, and no new projects that could damage the ecosystem are allowed to enter them. Source: Xinhua Net