In the wake of deadly gas pipeline explosions that rocked Kaohsiung in the last week of July, the Taiwanese Government is mulling a proposal to set up a special zone for petrochemical companies in Greater Kaohsiung.
Premier Jiang Yi-huah will meet Ministry of Economic Affairs officials to discuss the issue, Cabinet spokesman Sun Lih-chyun said, the Taipei Times reported.
The plan involves relocating existing petrochemical complexes in Greater Kaohsiung near the port complex, to avoid having underground pipelines running through residential areas, Taipei Times quoted the Chinese-language United Daily News as saying.
Under the plan, the Taiwanese Government would reclaim 400 hectares in the waters off the city’s Siaogang District, to build a special petrochemical plants zone, which are currently spread across Kaohsiung.
The project would cost an estimated NT$50 billion (US$1.67 billion) and is likely to be completed in 2017, United Daily News said.
The petrochemical industry in Kaohsiung came under scrutiny after the deadly July explosions, probably caused by a propylene leak in an underground pipeline.
The Kaohsiung petrochemical sector accounts for annual output exceeding US $30 billion or around one-quarter of the city’s industrial output, government data revealed.
It also says that more than 200,000 of the city’s 2.77 million residents are directly or indirectly employed in the petrochemical industry.
