Beijing's high-tech hub of Zhongguancun is speeding up the construction of an environmental protection park to help Beijing host a truly green Olympics in 2008.

 

"We will build the Zhongguancun Environmental Protection Park into the center of Beijing and the nation's environmental protection industry," said Zhao Yuhua, general manager of Beijing Strong Science Park Development Co Ltd, in an interview with China Daily.

 

Covering an area of 3.6 square kilometers, the park hopes to attract more than 500 environmental protection enterprises or institutions after it is completed in 2005, said Zhao, whose company is in charge of the construction and management of the park.

 

Combining research and development, production, trade and education, the park will realize "zero emission," meaning that all of the pollutants produced by enterprises will be fully consumed within the park.

 

After one year of construction, the infrastructure of the park has nearly been completed, said Wang Haisheng, who is responsible for attracting enterprises and institutions to set up in the park.

 

"There are several environmental protection institutions and companies from home and abroad who have shown an interest or have reached an initial agreements with the park," he said.

 

Differing from other high-tech parks, it will realize the commercialization of environmental protection research and development by the institutions in the park, he noted.

 

China's entry into the World Trade Organization and Beijing's hosting of the 2008 Olympics have provided vast business opportunities for the environmental protection industry, experts said.

 

Statistics indicate that the Chinese Government will invest 700 billion yuan (US$84 billion) in ecological construction and environmental protection during the 10th Five-Year Plan period (2001-05), which accounts for 1.3 percent of the gross domestic product of the same period.

(China Daily August 23, 2003)