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Residents objecting to construction of bleached pulp plant in Svetlahorsk

Residents of Svetlahorsk and a nearby village vehemently oppose the planned construction of a bleached pulp plant, fearing that the project would further aggravate environmental problems in and around the industrial city of some 70,000 people in the Homyel region.

Representatives of the Svetlahorsk District Executive Committee met with about 500 residents on January 23 to discuss the controversial project, which is to be carried out by a Chinese company.

"There was not a single remark from the public in support of the project. Most of the residents flatly oppose the construction of the plant as it will be a harmful facility, while the environmental situation is already bad in our city," said Vadzim Bolbas, a Belarusian Popular Front member who once worked with the city's environmental monitoring laboratory.

Officials failed to say at the meeting how the plant's operation would affect the city's environment. They only said that the construction of the plant would have an "insignificant" impact on the local environment.

The chief engineer of the Svetlahorsk Pulp and Cardboard Mill denied that the plant would be harmful, saying that he had visited a similar facility in China. However, most of the people present at the meeting were not convinced by his arguments.

Mr. Bolbas warned that the plant would be built 600 meters off the River Berezina. //BelaPAN