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September 18, 2017

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Construction suspended to clear the air

Source: Agencies | 00:01 UTC+8 September 18, 2017 | Print Edition

Beijing will suspend construction of major public projects this winter in an effort to improve air quality, according to the city’s housing and urban-rural development commission.

All construction of road and water projects, as well as housing demolition, will be banned from November 15 to March 15 within the city’s six major districts and surrounding suburbs, Xinhua news agency said.

The period spans the four months when heating is supplied to the city’s housing and other buildings.

China is in the fourth year of a “war on pollution” designed to reverse the damage done by decades of untrammeled economic growth and allay concerns that hazardous smog and widespread water and soil contamination are causing hundreds of thousands of early deaths every year.

The central government has promised to impose tough industrial and traffic curbs across the north of the country this winter in a bid to meet key smog targets.

In the capital, it is aiming to reduce the particularly hazardous airborne particles known as PM2.5 by more than a quarter from their 2012 levels and bring average concentrations down to 60 micrograms per cubic meter.

The city experienced near record-high smog in January and February, a situation which the government blamed on “unfavorable weather conditions”

Some “major livelihood projects” such as railways, airports and affordable housing may be continued however, providing they are approved by the commission, said the report.

It added that the government would be stepping up supervision of dust control on city construction sites and restricting the use of machinery with high emissions.

Nation


 

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