On July 11, 2019, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) sent a notice [1] to local authorities in charge of development and reform and environmental issues in 20 provinces and municipalities, laying out major tasks and arrangements concerning third-party treatment of environmental pollutions in industrial parks.
According to the Notice, the strategy is to be implemented in three regions focusing on different types of industrial parks:
Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and their surrounding areas: industrial parks specialized in sectors like iron and steel, metallurgy, building materials and electroplating
Yangtze Economic Belt: industrial parks specialized in sectors like chemical and printing and dyeing
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area: industrial parks specialized in sectors like electroplating and printing and dyeing
In order to provide guidance for authorities, the Notice specifies four tasks, including fostering new models of third-party treatment, regulating how industrial parks and businesses discharging pollutants cooperate with third-party businesses, promoting the disclosure of information concerning third-party treatment, and exploring the implementation of third-party treatment within a given period.
Policy support will be in place pursuant to the Notice. For qualified third-party businesses which engage in treatment of environmental pollutions, they can enjoy a 15 percent corporate income tax rate as opposed to the 25 percent statutory rate. Meanwhile, a proportion of the central government budget will be invested in qualified industrial parks and third-party businesses treating environmental pollutions.
