Eco-Friendly Industrial Complex Project Being Studied in Kitakyushu City

The Kyushu Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry has established the Kitakyushu Environmental Industrial Complex Planning Committee, jointly with Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture in southern Japan. The committee held four review sessions between November 2003 and March 2004, aiming to create an advanced recycling-based community in the city by developing a cooperative structure between industrial and residential areas. It also aims to strengthen the competitiveness of the industrial complex in terms of energy and resource saving, through collaboration of companies from different industries, including steel and chemicals. Fifteen companies, including Nippon Steel Corp., Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Sumitomo Metals (Kokura) Ltd., and Mitsui Mining Co., have joined the committee.

In the sessions, the members discussed the feasibility of:
(1) utilizing unused energy sources, such as factory waste heat, by companies or residential areas near the factories; and
(2) recycling and recovering byproducts and wastes generated in plants and local communities at the municipal level.
The committee also focused on the complex's potential to supply hydrogen, seeking to create a hydrogen-based society. The members presented approaches for turning these projects into reality.

It is expected that the attempt to optimally use local resources and energy sources will help not only mitigate environmental problems but also increase the competitiveness of the companies involved.

As part of "zero emissions" strategies, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry jointly established the Eco-Town Project program in 1997, with an eye to creating environmentally friendly cities. Kitakyushu City has been proactive in pursuing these activities, and the city's Eco-Friendly Industrial Complex Project is seen as one way to help promote the Eco-Town program.


Posted: 2004/08/09 11:33:59 AM
Japanese version