Hunan provincial government recently issued Implementation Plan on Relocation or Reform of Chemical Enterprises Along Yangtze River in Hunan, according to which within one kilometer from Yangtze River: 1) constructing new chemical parks (or projects) and expanding existing parks are both banned; 2) risk assessment is to be conducted; 3) chemical firms – lagging behind in production facilities and failing to meet safety and environmental protection standards – will be shut down in 2020, and those that are promising and meet safety and environmental requirements will be supervised more strictly.

Local governments will strengthen supervision over chemical enterprises, located more than one kilometer from Yangtze River, and encourage related firms to relocate to qualified chemical parks. Further, in the next six years, the provincial government will allocate special subsidy fund of RMB200 million per year. The number of chemical parks will increase to accommodate more enterprises.