By KHT Staff. Image via KH City Govt.
KAOHSIUNG — Residents of Dalinpu (大林蒲) and Fengpitou (鳳鼻頭) are calling on the central government to separate their long-promised relocation from plans for a “new material circulation industrial park,” according to a Taipei Times report.
The central Environmental Impact Assessment Review Committee (中央環境影響評估審查委員會) reviewed the project on May 15. The proposed park encompasses land surrounding the two Siaogang District (小港區) communities, which have been encircled for decades by heavy industry from the Linhai Industrial Park (臨海工業區).
Residents have long complained of air pollution, noise, and dust from nearby refineries, steel plants, power facilities, and port operations. Government surveys conducted in 2011 and 2016 found strong support for relocation. Then-premier Lin Chuan (林全) backed the move in 2017, following reports that approximately 90 percent of residents wanted to leave.
The Executive Yuan (行政院) approved the industrial park plan in 2019. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (經濟部) has said the project would help fund the relocation while developing a high-tech materials supply chain.
But residents and environmental groups say linking the relocation to the industrial project could delay the move.
Kaohsiung City Government (高雄市政府) officials said the relocation budget is legally tied to the industrial park project.
