Another 40 polluting industries will be moved out of central Beijing this year, a fresh move of the city government's efforts that began in mid 1980s to create a better environment in the downtown area.
The relocation is expected to release about two million square meters of land for the development of other businesses, which will contribute to the city's industrial restructuring, according to Feng Hai, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Economic Committee.
Under the government plan, enterprises that are relocated in the suburbs get money from land transfer so they can afford technological transformation and make more profits.
The relocation program began in 1985. By January this year, the city government had approved transfer contracts for 189 inner city industries, freeing up more than 4.8 million square meters of land.
As a result, Feng said, the amount of land occupied by polluting enterprises inside the Fourth Ring Road has dropped from 8.74 to 7.26 percent.
By the end of 2005, another more than 150 enterprises will be moved out of the urban area, with 4.2 million square meters of land released. The amount of land for industrial purpose will be further reduced to 6.6 percent in the urban area, he said.
Relocating polluting industries is only part of the national capital's clean-up plan. Special economic development zones are to be set up in different parts of the city for industries specializing in such areas as electronic information, automobiles, machinery, petrochemicals, building materials and medical products.
(People's Daily June 3, 2002)
