Fortune of Chemical Industry in Longmen Mountain Flowed Away    

Longmen Mountain fracture belt is the birthplace of the May-12 Wenchuan Earthquake. A huge "chemical fortune circle" in Sichuan province is attached to this earthquake belt.
   Jinhe Phosphate Mine, one of the four major phosphate mines in China, was established in 1959. It is the first phosphate mine in Shifang, a town aside by Longmen Mountain. Followed Jinhe Phosphate Mine, many chemical enterprises using phosphorus as raw material have cropped up there. These enterprises process phosphate rock mined in Jinhe Phosphate Mine into calcium hydrophosphate and then further produce pesticides and chemical fertilizers for sale in the domestic market or for export. Before the earthquake there were more than 100 big and small mines in the area with an employment of 20 000-30 000.
    Lin Ling, a researcher from Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences points out that 70% of the GDP in the province is contributed by the heavy industry with a resource intensive, particularly by chemical industry. Widespread mineral resources, adequate water and power support and cheap labor have combined to bring a rapid industrial development in the province.
    Like other inland provinces and regions, Sichuan province took a benevolent attitude towards polluting chemical enterprises in the 1990s. As Chinese coastal areas tightened the environmental protection control on polluting enterprises in 2000, a large group of chemical enterprises moved to Sichuan province.
    Entire chemical industry in the province was hit hard by the earthquake.
    As of the end of July, the proportion of chemical enterprises with considerable scale that have restored production has reached 53.9% in the region affected by the earthquake and more than 40 badly-hit state-owned chemical enterprises are formulating reconstruction programs and launching new projects.
   Experts suggest that China should make use of this opportunity of reconstruction to move these enterprises out of mountainous areas. Chemical enterprises should be concentrated in chemical industry parks. This concept has won support from local chemical enterprises.
   Ninety percent of enterprises including Sichuan Hongda Group, Qingping Phosphate Mine and Jinhe Phosphate Mine have decided to make reconstruction on their original sites. "Our preliminary idea is to reconstruct factory buildings on the original site," said Liu Tailin, Chairman of Shifang Yingfeng Industrial Corporation. If enough funds are raised, before the end of next year the company can hopefully restore itself to the level before the disaster.
   "Although some cities or towns in the region have a strong desire to develop the chemical sector, after the Wenchuan earthquake a careful consideration in economics needs to be taken to the industrial corridor seated close to Longmen Mountain fracture belt," said Prof. Ai Nanshan of Sichuan University. "At least the high-polluting projects are not suitable to be developed in this region."
   It is still hard to say for the time being whether Sichuan Petrochemical Base located in Pengzhou site that already aroused great dispute before the earthquake will alter its construction plan. CNPC Chairman Jiang Jiemin once said that a prudent attitude should be taken in spite of the fact that the project was already approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in April and EPC contracts on four units were already signed on April 21st. "We have set up a special team to conduct assessment to the direct impact of the earthquake on Pengzhou," said CNPC Chairman Jiang Jiemin at a press conference in May. "In case the assessment proves that the natural calamity is force majeur, CNPC will give up the project." But at the end of July, CNPC has signed some license contracts for the project, presenting that the construction may soon be started.