Thousand of protesters who marched through the eastern Ningbo City yesterday against the expansion of a petrochemical factory won a pledge from the local government that the project would be halted.

 

The Ningbo government said in a statement yesterday evening that the city and the project's investor had "resolutely" agreed not to go ahead with the expansion.

 

The city's Zhenhai District, where the chemical plant locates, said Ningbo's Communist Party chief Wang Huizhong and Mayor Liu Qi held discussions with residents on Saturday night.

 

The Ningbo government said in a short statement on its website yesterday evening that the project wouldn't go ahead and that refining at the factory would stop for the time being while a scientific review is conducted.

 

The demonstration is the latest this year over fears of health risks from industrial projects, as Chinese who have seen their living standards improve become more outspoken against environmentally risky projects in their areas.

 

Hundreds of residents headed from a city square toward the offices of the Ningbo government early yesterday. They were stopped by police at the gate. Tensions rose after about 200 riot police walked out of the gate, tore down banners that people had hung in trees.

 

Hundreds roamed along nearby shopping streets. Police diverted traffic to allow them to pass down a main road.

 

The protests began a few days earlier in the coastal district of Zhenhai. On Saturday they swelled and spread to the center of Ningbo. Residents reported that Saturday's protests involved thousands of people.

 

Authorities said "a few" people disrupted public order by staging sit-ins, unfurling banners, distributing fliers and obstructing roads.

 

Marchers included the elderly and children, as well as some pet poodles. Some protesters wore face masks and shouted slogans like "Protect Ningbo" and "Return my health."

 

"We have to do this for our future and our family's future," a 40-year-old protester surnamed Jing said yesterday, as she pointed to the smoggy air. "The sky was so clear when I was a child. Look at it now."

 

Another protester, Yu Yibing, said he wanted the factory to be closed, not expanded, and his 7-year-old son to grow up in a clean environment.

 

"As the common people, we need to live in a green environment. This is a reasonable request," Yu said. 

 

The planned expansion project was designed to produce 15 million tons of refined oil and 1.2 million tons of ethylene per year and belongs to Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co, which has invested 55.87 billion yuan (US$8.9 billion). 

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