Operations at five petrochemical plants operated by Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠) that potentially pose an industrial safety risk will remain suspended until the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) reaches a final ruling on the matter.
An official from the ministry’s petitions and appeals committee yesterday said it was still studying the facts and legal aspects of the case and would reach its verdict “very soon.”
Nan Ya officials, including president Wu Chia-chau (吳嘉昭), Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) and other county officials, met at the ministry yesterday morning to present their case on the ordered closure of the five plants.
The meeting was called after Nan Ya appealed to the ministry on the grounds that the Yunlin County Government’s orders were invalid and operations at four of the five plants should not be suspended because they had nothing to do with the fires that broke out last month.
On May 27, Yunlin County Government took the unprecedented move of ordering Nan Ya to shut down its 50-hectare Haifeng (海豐) compound after fires broke out on May 12 and May 18.
The Haifeng facilities house five production lines that produce a number of key textile materials and petrochemical intermediaries, including butylene glycol(BG), ethylene glycol (EG) and bisphenol A (BPA).
Nan Ya had said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that the closure of its five plants would result in financial losses of at least NT$8.4 million (US$289,700) a day.
However, Yunlin County said that operations at the plants had to be suspended until the county and the Council of Labor Affairs decide safety measures have been adequately improved.
The appeals committee — which is composed of 13 members from the ministry as well as academics — will look at the facts presented by both parties and it is also looking to define both parties’ claims under Article 93 of the Administrative Appeal Act (訴願法), the official said.
Nan Ya shares dropped 1 percent to close at NT$78.2 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday. Its shares have fallen 4.6 percent over the past month, compared with an average 4.3 percent dip for local plastics makers.
Nan Ya is the world’s fourth-largest EG producer, with its Mailiao (麥寮) and Haifeng plants churning out a total of 1.8 million tonnes of chemicals a year.
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