Officials in the southeastern Chinese city of Zhangzhou have launched a public education campaign on the effects of a proposed petrochemical plant that was stopped in a neighboring city after fierce opposition over potential pollution and health problems.

The controversial paraxylene (PX) plant, originally planned for Xiamen, Fujian Province, is to be located in the Gulei peninsula, which has a population of 135,000 and falls under Zhangzhou, also in Fujian.

"The PX plant has passed an environmental impact assessment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) and we are working to inform the local people about it," said He Shaohua, an official with Zhangzhou city government.

He is the first in Zhangzhou to speak about the planned plant after the MEP posted a statement on its website on Monday, saying Zhangzhou will be the new site.

Bulletin boards have been erected in some residential areas to brief villagers with basic knowledge of PX.

Land acquisition for the plant and compensation for farmers in accordance with the law is in progress, He said.

The 13.78-billion-yuan (about 2 billion U.S. dollars) project by Tenglong Aromatic PX (Xiamen) Co. Ltd. is expected to produce 800,000 tonnes of paraxylene and generate an annual revenue of 80 billion yuan.

The project will use 830 million yuan from the budget to address pollution problems.

The ministry also approved another massive factory in the city that could use PX to produce 1.5 million tonnes of purified terephthalic acid, or PTA, which is commonly used in polyester coatings and resins.

The PTA plant, which is said to be environment-friendly, will involve 4.96 billion yuan in total investment, including 700 million yuan for environment protection, according to the ministry's statement.

The PX plant provoked heated protest by residents in Xiamen in May 2007. They argued it would be detrimental to the environment and public health.

After a series of public hearings and debates, the construction in the densely populated coastal city was put on hold in June 2007.

"The plant's environmental impact is within a controllable range," He said. "There are plenty of PX plants both at home and abroad, which fully demonstrate the effect on the environment."

The Gulei peninsula is more than 100 km from Zhangzhou's urban area, which has a population about 1 million.

The timetable of the construction is still unknown.

However, some local people who largely rely on aquiculture, worried that the plant might affect the sea area where they raise abalone and kelp.

"It is good to introduce a project for economic development, but I hope the government can protect the environment as well and properly compensate people who suffer economic losses," said a village teacher who declined to give his name.

However, some Fujian people in on-line forums opposed the relocation, saying Zhangzhou did not deserve the controversial project because it is less populated than Xiamen.

(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2009)