THE HAGUE, Oct 18 (AFP) - A mustard gas factory in Libya may be converted into a pharmaceutical plant producing low-priced vaccines and medicines to treat AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Monday.

The plan will go forward if members of the OPCW approve an amendment to the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which called for chemical weapons sites to be destroyed or converted to peaceful purposes by the end of 2003.

Libya, with the support of the United States and 16 other OPCW members, sought the amendment early this month that would allow it to convert the factory in Rabta, 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Tripoli, into a pharmaceuticals factory to produce the drugs for developing countries.

The Rabta plant, which produced around 100 tonnes of sulphur mustard gas and other neurotoxic agents in the 1980s, was closed in 1990 under pressure from the United States and other countries.

Libya decided on January 6 to adhere to the Chemical Weapons Convention after announcing the previous month that it was renouncing its unconventional weapons programs.

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