Rayong faces Thailand's first pollution tax

15-Mar-07

A radical plan aimed to reduce and cut back harmful emissions has resulted in Rayong province having to pay Thailand's first-ever pollution tax for its power plants, petrochemical factories and refining facilities. The proposal came from a temporary committee recently set up by the ministry to make recommendations on how to deal with emission charges. An Industry Ministry committee will propose that the ministry levy the radical tax on Rayong’s plants. The planned tax would also target upcoming power plants likely to locate in the area under the Independent Power Producers (IPP) project that aims to reduce pollution emissions and create more opportunities to support industrial expansion in the future. The plan was announced as a boom in Thailand's industrial development has been causing serious health problems, particularly for those living near Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, where a large number of petrochemical and industrial plants are located. This new tax would be separate from the energy tax that power plants will be subject to. If private companies are willing to comply with the idea, the emission charges might be applied before the regulation becomes effective by law. The Industry Ministry will impose an emission charge on three industries - power plants, petrochemical and refining facilities - at the beginning because they emit the largest quantity of sulphur dioxide and oxide of nitrogen. As per a report, 10 plants that emit 88% of total Nox in the area are BLCP Power, Electricity Generating, Glow SPP3, PTT, PTT Chemical, Rayong Refinery, Rayong Olefins, Glow Energy, Tuntex (Thailand) and Star Petroleum Refining. The 10 plants that emitted 96% SOx last year were BLCP Power, Glow SPP2, PTT, RRC, Star Petroleum, Tuntex (Thailand), PTT Chemical, Bangkok Polyethylene, Padaeng Industry and The Siam Construction Steel Company.