Secretary of Jiangsu Provincial Government, Mr. Li Yuanchao, visited Suzhou Everbright Environmental Protection Industrial Zone

Mr. Li Yuanchao, Secretary of Jiangsu Provincial Government visited Suzhou Everbright Environmental Protection Industrial Zone in the afternoon of 12 June 2007. He was accompanied by the Secretary of Suzhou Municipal Government, Mr. Wang Rong.

Mr. Li and his retinue were briefed on the positioning, development plan and the operation of the Suzhou Everbright Environmental Protection Industrial Zone and the waste-to-energy and methane-to-energy projects which are located in the zone.

As of May 2007, the waste-to-energy plant has been operated safely and smoothly for 351 consecutive days, while the methane-to-energy project has collected and used more than 6,000,000 cubic metres of methane. The odours at the solid waste landfill have been reduced substantially.

Mr. Li pointed out: "Environmental protection is crucial to the well-being of society. We have learned a lesson from the recent blue algae incident in Taihu Lake. We should prefer incineration to landfill when treating waste for the sake of future generations."

Mr. Li had a high opinion of the Suzhou waste-to-energy project and encouraged China Everbright International to invest in more similar projects in Jiangsu province.