Ding Guoyan, vice mayor of Xiamen, has announced at a press conference that Xiamen will suspend the controversial Haicang paraxylene chemical project, though the project has passed a series of environmental evaluations.

The RMB10.8 billion project was invested in by Taiwan-funded Xianglu Group to produce paraxylene, a petrochemical used to make polyester film, packaging resin and fabrics. Located in Haicang District, which is said to be too close to the downtown area of Xiamen, the plant was expected to generate annual revenue of RMB80 billion.

Because the project is too close to the residential area of Xiamen, it has received much opposition from local residents. According to local media, Xiamen residents had flooded the local government with nearly a million SMS messages to oppose the plant.

Ding said the Xiamen municipal government understand the concerns of the citizens and will put the project on hold until more information can be gathered about how to protect citizens from the potentially dangerous chemical plant.