Eight China Ministries to Check Polluting Sectors
Date: 29-May-07
Country: CHINA
In a statement on its Web site (www.ndrc.gov.cn), the National Development and Reform Commission said that it, together with seven other ministries, would send eight to 10 special teams to a number of provinces. It did not say which ones.
The commission said it was launching the investigations "to firmly curb overly fast growth in energy-intensive and high-polluting industries, and to accelerate changes in our economic structure and growth mode".
After missing its energy-saving target in 2006, China is redoubling efforts to reduce the consumption of natural resources while maintaining fast economic growth.
Inspectors would check whether local authorities had complied with orders to scrap illegal incentives such as tax breaks and cheap land and power to attract investment in nine industries -- steel, cement, copper, coke, power, ferro-alloys, lead and zinc, aluminium and calcium carbide, the statement said.
They would also see if local governments had closed down obsolete plants and implemented policies to curb exports by those sectors, it said.
It urged all provinces "to continue to seek more effective measures" to combat investment in these industries.