Industrial Development Bureau gives time until October for suspension of Formosa’s 48 plants

28-Sep-11

The Industrial Development Bureau has decided to give Formosa’s 48 petrochemical plants more time to coordinate their suspension timelines, but the suspension must begin in October, as per CNA. This decision came after the fourth meeting of a government investigation team, which was established to inspect the safety of Yunlin's Mailiao industrial zone, to review plans to suspend factory operations by the Formosa Plastics Corp., Nan Ya Plastics Corp., and the Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. The three companies were asked to suspend operations at their 48 plants in Mailiao, pending safety inspections. 13 plants are under Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp., 16 are under Formosa Plastics Corp. and 19 under Nan Ya. Eight fires at Formosa Plastics' petrochemical plants in 2011 have given rise to safety concerns at such plants. Although the three companies have all submitted their individual suspension and inspection schedules, they have yet to coordinate with each other. In addition, the independent third party, Lloyd's Register Group of UK, has not yet made an overall assessment as it was just recently called in. The bureau will give Lloyd's 1-2 weeks to coordinate the companies' suspension plans and will review the completed parts of the plan next Sunday.