Thousands of Hong Kong-owned factories in southern China's booming
manufacturing region face closure or relocation due to the pollution and
environmental hazards they pose.
A haze of pollution is
seen over the Hong Kong skyline. Thousands of Hong Kong-owned factories in
southern China's Pearl River Delta face closure or relocation due to the
pollution and environmental hazards they pose.
[AFP] |
The moves are part of efforts by China's Guangdong province to force
polluting, high-risk and energy-inefficient factories out of the Pearl River
Delta.
It is also aimed at promoting sustainable development and cleaner production,
according to the South China Morning Post.
Peter Leung Pak-yan, director of Hong Kong's Guangdong Economic and Trade
Office, said businesses should act quickly to come up with survival plans.
"My personal observation is that the situation is getting more serious and
time is running out quickly," he was quoted as saying.
The newspaper said about 300 dangerous goods manufacturers were notified
earlier this year that their licences would not be renewed by the end of June,
or would only be renewed on a monthly basis, until they agreed to move to
designated industrial areas.
Industries directly affected include electroplating, dyeing, chemicals,
paints, detergents and production of dangerous substances.
Beijing-backed newspaper Ta Kung Pao estimated that 50,000 companies will be
affected.
A spokeswoman for the 3,000-member Federation of Hong Kong Industries said
their members have expressed concern about the policy and the group is following
it up on the mainland.
Serious pollution blights large parts of China as a consequence of its rapid
economic development.
In 2004 nearly 2.5 million tons of pollutants produced by agriculture and
industry flowed into the mouth of the Pearl River, according to the Guangzhou
Marine Geological Survey.
It has said the contamination includes heavy metals, oil, nitrogen, ammonia
and other chemical materials with levels of pollutants far higher than standards
set by the State Environmental Protection Administration.
