Having considered that part of the report of the Sub-Committee dealing with two halon production closure projects that had been submitted to, but not approved by, the Executive Committee at its Eighteenth Meeting (UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/19/5, paras. 21-22), the Executive Committee, decided:
(a) To recall that, at its Thirteenth Meeting, the Executive Committee had approved a project on halon-1211 production closure (Tongxiang Chemical Fertilizer Factory), to be implemented by the World Bank. Approval was contingent on a permanent decrease in the total national halon production at a level of at least 400 tonnes below current levels as indicated in the project;
(b) To recall also its decision 18/5, by which it had decided:
(i) That no action should be taken on these projects until guidelines for the production‑sector phase-out had been agreed upon by the Executive Committee; and
(ii) That when such guidelines were in place, re-submission of the projects should be accompanied by a satisfactory explanation of how they met the conditions of the agreement reached between China and the Committee at the Thirteenth Meeting;
(c) To note that the World Bank had informed the Secretariat that the closure of the Tongxiang plant was concluded in December 1994 but that it would not disburse any funds for the Tongxiang project until the conditions of the Committee were met;
(d) To take note of an explanation by the Chinese Government contained in a conference room paper circulated at the current Meeting and of a statement made by the member from China in the delegation of the Philippines, in which he reaffirmed his country’s commitment to honouring its international obligations for the protection of the ozone layer and stated that while the engagement entered into by China at the Thirteenth Meeting had itself been contingent on the provision of sufficient international support and transfer of technology to achieve a reduction in the level of production of halons in accordance with the country programme, the actual funding for such projects received by China had been very low, at a time of unexpectedly high market demand for fire-fighting equipment, despite his Government’s efforts to limit halon consumption;
(e) To take note also of the outcome of the subsequent meeting of the Sub-Committee on Project Review, following which the Sub-Committee recommended that the Tongxiang project should be cancelled. However, taking note of the fact that this plant closure had achieved a permanent 400-tonne reduction, the Executive Committee decided, as an exceptional measure, that, of the amount approved at the Thirteenth Meeting, the World Bank should release US $104,000 to China as an enterprise incentive and final compensation, and should return the remaining funds, amounting to US $734,000, to the Multilateral Fund.