Dispute deepens over HK firm’s plant project

By Na Jeong-ju

A Hong Kong-based power firm is offering to hand out cash to local residents of Haenam, South Jeolla Province, to secure their collective consent for it to build a coal-fired power plant there.

The construction project has been a hot issue in the southwestern rural community since MPC Korea Holdings, a subsidiary of Meiya Power Company, announced a plan in December to build a plant with a capacity of 5,000 megawatts by 2018. It said it would invest a total of 7.6 trillion won in the project and create 1,000 jobs.

Most residents and the local council, however, have expressed opposition, citing possible environmental damage and health problems the coal-fired plant may cause.

MPC is eager to overcome these obstacles.

A steering committee launched in January to make the power plant attractive to Haenam said Tuesday that it had obtained consent from a majority of the 3,860 residents within a five-kilometer radius of the planned site. The committee says public sentiment is changing since the firm promised to offer some 50 million ($44,400) to each household if they give the go ahead.

“The consent from residents is a crucial factor in deciding on whether to approve the project or not. The central government is expected to start the deliberation process in a few weeks,” an industry source said on condition of anonymity.

Some people have changed their minds in favor of the construction, but it’s viewed as a matter of life or death by others. And there are signs that their protests are getting stronger and more organized since the cash offer was announced.

More than 1,000 residents from Haenam and nearby areas held a rally in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. They also visited the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, which will evaluate the project, and the head office of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) to deliver a petition against the construction.

“MPC is trying to curry favor with local residents by offering cash so it can go ahead with the project, which more than 80 percent of residents oppose,” said Seo Nam-kwon, head of a civic coalition against the power company.

“We won’t allow the construction because the coal-fired plant is likely to create a lot of dust as well as damage the environment, fisheries and our clean waters.”

MPC initially planned to build the plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, but this was canceled due to opposition from the city’s council and environmental groups.