Taiwan accepted Formosa's a plan for safety checks at fire-hit Mailiao complex

Taiwan's government has accepted a plan by the Formosa Plastics group for safety checks at its fire-hit Mailiao complex that will see operations suspended in stages until the end of August 2012.

The government had ordered some facilities at the complex, which houses naphtha cracking and plastics manufacturing facilities and is one of Asia's largest refineries, closed after a series of fires between July 2010 and August 2011. The blazes triggered public protests over safety standards.

It had also ordered Formosa to come up with a plan to conduct safety checks on the entire complex in stages. The plan agreed at a weekend meeting should be complete by the end of August 2012, the government's Industrial Development Bureau said.

The partial shutdowns had roiled oil markets and cut Taiwan's export growth in August. Some of the refining units that were ordered closed have since reopened.