People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers of the anti-chemical warfare corps clean up the debris at the blast site in Binhai new district of Tianjin. (Photo : REUTERS)
Local authorities in Tianjin will start the relocation of two large chemical plants in 2016, which is expected to cost about 29 billion yuan, five months after the massive blasts of the chemical warehouse that killed more than 160 people in 2015, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Wang Junming, general manager of Nangang Industrial Zone Co. Ltd., told Xinhua that Tianjin Chemical Plant and Tianjin Dagu Chemical Plant will start relocation this year, from a densely populated area to the Nangang Industrial Zone in southern Tianjin.
The two factories were established in the 1930s and located in Tianjin's Hangu and Tanggu Districts.
"They have posed safety and environmental threats to the residential areas in the neighborhood," Wang said on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Tianjin Municipal People's Congress, the local legislature, on Sunday, Jan. 24.
Wang said that a total of 29 billion yuan (about $4.5 billion) is expected to be raised for the relocation, based on state low-interest loans and supportive funds provided by Tianjin's Binhai New Area.
In August last year, massive blasts at a chemical warehouse rocked the Tianjin Port, and the incident claimed the lives of more than 160 people.
After the accident, Tianjin began moving chemical plants to the Nangang Industrial Zone, about 30 kilometers from the explosion site, and 10 kilometers from the nearest residential area.
Wang told Xinhua that no new chemical plants will be approved or built in the area following the blasts.
Nangang Industrial Zone in Binhai New Area has an area of 200 square kilometers. It was designed to become a world-class multi-functional zone featuring heavy chemical industrial base and port.
Local authorities said in October last year that a 24-hectare park will be constructed on the site of the deadly Tianjin warehouse explosions. The construction started in November last year.
The park is expected to be completed in July next year. A high school, a primary school and a kindergarten around the park will also be constructed based on agreements, the report said.
