China cancels uranium processing plant after protests
Iran Press TV
Sat Jul 13, 2013 5:3PM GMT
Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have cancelled plans to build the country's largest uranium processing plant, a day after hundreds of local residents took to the streets demanding the project be scrapped over safety concerns.
The government of Heshan city, situated roughly 1,591 kilometers (988 miles) southwest of the capital, Beijing, announced on Saturday that it would halt the construction of the proposed 230-hectare complex, which state-run China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) had planned to build at the cost of 37 billion yuan ($6 billion).
"The people's government of the city of Heshan has decided to respect the public opinion and will not consider CNNC's Longwan industrial park project," read the one-line announcement.
The Saturday's decision to cancel the project came after hundreds of protesters paraded through the streets a day earlier, holding banners and wearing T-shirts in protest against the plan.
They also chanted slogans like "Give us back our rural homes. We are against nuclear radiation."
Members of the Chinese public have at times staged protests over environmentally risky projects, forcing local governments to cancel, postpone or relocate several major projects.
The planned uranium conversion and enrichment plant in Guangdong Province was expected to produce 1,000 tons of nuclear fuel annually by 2020.
China is expanding its nuclear power capacity as part of efforts to reduce reliance on coal. The world's second largest economy plans to generate between 60-70 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear power by 2020 from the current 12.6 GW.
China currently produces 800 tons of uranium fuel at its plants in the southwestern Sichuan Province and north China's Inner Mongolia. It also imports uranium from Australia, Canada and Kazakhstan.
MP/SS
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