Chairman Viravat Cholvanich yesterday said Map Ta Phut's pollution problems had caused negative impacts on his company's business expansion, forcing it to adopt a wait-and-see policy.

On January 11, the Pollution Control Department asked that the Map Ta Phut industrial complex, comprising four industrial estates, be declared a pollution-control zone, allowing the department to control factory emissions within it. This followed the discovery of cancer-causing pollutants in the atmosphere.

However, the factories have been given a year to curb toxic emissions, pending studies of the relationship between illnesses and pollutants, or face departmental controls.

"Our expansion plan for the first half of the year has to be postponed to the second half," Viravat said. "We're also studying other locations for our new investment plans, [in case] Map Ta Phut has more problems."

As a result, the new plant may be built at Laem Chabang in Chon Buri or another location as close as possible to the company's existing Rayong refinery.

Executive chairman Supapong Krishnakan said Rayong Purifier's refinery had none of the processes that produced pollution.

"We believe our new plant's environmental standards will meet the government's requirements, and it will be located in Map Ta Phut. However, we have to wait until the environmental studies pass the government's standard before construction starts in the second half of the year," he said.

Supapong said delays to the company's investment plans would not affect Rayong Purifier's financial results. It expects 10 per cent growth over last year's sales of Bt20 billion.

The company is also planning to invest Bt200 million to open 36 new Pure petrol stations this year, for a total of 100, he said.

The company has also set up a joint venture with property company Sammakorn, called Pure Sammakorn Development. It will become a retail development arm for expanding Rayong Purifier's petrol-station operations in Bangkok.

Pure Sammakorn Development will also develop retail property projects under the concept of community malls called Pure Place. The first Pure Place mall has been built at Klong 2 in Rangsit at a cost of Bt120 million. It will open in April.

Somluck Srimalee

The Nation