Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co, which last week was forced to scrap its plan to build a naphtha cracking plant in -Changhua County, yesterday criticized the government’s policy on the petrochemical industry as being inconsistent and unpredictable.
Kuokuang chairman Chen Bao-lang (陳寶郎) said the government lacked an integrated development plan, which had resulted in frequent policy shifts.
“Why wasn’t the government aware that there were valuable wetlands in Changhua?” he asked on the sidelines of a board meeting. “If it was aware, why didn’t it tell us at the very beginning of the project?”
Chen was referring to his company’s plan to build a petrochemical complex in a wetlands area. The project had been under heavy fire for months from environmental and other groups, prior to a decision by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on whether it should be allowed to proceed.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) open opposition to the project was seen as a major factor in the EPA committee’s recommendation that the project either be rejected or conditionally approved.
Chen said environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures need to be overhauled so that controversial projects can be reviewed more thoroughly and political responsibility can be more clearly defined.
“You can’t expect experts and academics to be responsible for an investment project of this scale,” Chen said. “It’s not fair to them and it’s not fair to us.”
Chen also criticized the policy of leaving it to investors to collect and analyze the environmental and economic data required to obtain approval for investment projects.
This means that a new review has to be conducted each time a company becomes interested in making an investment — a procedure that is both exhausting and unproductive, Chen said.
“The government should use its authority to establish a public database so, whether a project has been approved or not, the related data is available for future reference,” he said.
At the board meeting yesterday, six board members from major investors, including CPC Corp, Taiwan, and Far Eastern Group, formalized the withdrawal of the plan as proposed by CPC last week.
Expressing regret on behalf of the firm’s shareholders, Chen said the company would not be disbanded.
“We have agreed to keep looking for other investment opportunities, both domestically and internationally,” Chen said.
Specifically, the company will be eyeing investment opportunities for higher-value petrochemical production in Taiwan that fits the country’s industrial policy.
Meanwhile, the company will remain committed to producing petrochemicals by searching for possible sites for naphtha cracking plants in other countries.
Despite recent speculation that Kuokuang might move the project to Malaysia or Indonesia, Chen said investors have not yet pinpointed any overseas location.
In addition, he said the company would not need to solicit extra capital, “at least for a while.”
Although several stakeholders raised the issue of compensation at the meeting, Chen quelled speculation that the company might sue the government for delaying, then canceling, the proposed Changhua plant.
“Of course, we investors have been treated unfairly considering the amount of time and money we have put into the project, but considering our chances of winning a lawsuit, we have decided to give up altogether,” Chen said.
At a separate setting yesterday, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) denied that Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) would be replaced to take responsibility for the controversy surrounding the Kuokuang project.
“Minister Shih has been faithful to his duty. Furthermore, if someone has to take the blame, it should be the [previous] Democratic Progressive Party government, which strongly pushed the project since 1995,” Wu said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS